


Cirque de Masque

by AbsolutelytheV



Category: Original Work
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Relationships, Art, Circus, Communism, Cyborgs, Dystopia, F/F, F/M, Fanart, Implied/Referenced Abuse, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Multi, Mutation, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Other, Post-War, Superpowers, Violence, War, World War III, super humans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-02-14 15:18:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 208
Words: 210,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13010547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbsolutelytheV/pseuds/AbsolutelytheV
Summary: Tensions between countries grow as "super humans" start to pop up more and more across the globe. When one country has a surplus of these "super humans," the other snaps, starting the Alti-war. Throughout the Alti-war, Ellenor, a precognitive general, starts bringing these "super" misfits together to protect from the opposing governments. Through their leader's guidance, the misfits band together to travel the globe, entertaining the masses, and, more importantly, run from their impending doom as government recognized convicts. Together, the "super humans" put on their own shows, make drama between each other, and becoming the world's most famous (and only) circus.





	1. Opening Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brief snippet of what's to come.

Ellenor wasn’t afraid. She never had been. Ever since that night in the bunker with the Medical Corps all around her, people crying all around, booming from above, and watching a brave young woman stitch her arm, she had lost all fear of death, life, and pain. The thundering claps coming from the other side of the curtain reminded her of that terrifying week of staying huddled underground, hoping, praying, for any kind of order to give up, to attack, to do anything. But the orders never came, and the clapping didn’t end.

“Welcome to the ring, Madame Enchanté!” Upon hearing Cardon’s voice call her up to the plate, Ellenor forced a smile onto her face and threw her arms out to entrance the audience by whipping the curtain around her fit body and strut out. She felt powerful as she could hear the thudding of her own massive heeled boots hitting the ground over the audience’s cheers for her.

“Sorry to keep you all waiting,” She teased the audience with boasting. “I know you’ve missed us.” She felt Malzya brush up to her right. She reached over and scratched under the Lioness’s chin without looking. She then felt Geo walk up next to her left. Soon, the whole squad of cyborg lions were surrounding her, but she wasn’t afraid. 

Cardon’s voice came over head again, “Let the show start!” Ellenor couldn’t help but smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this chapter, it's all introductions and backstories. Beware, the actual circus doesn't start up until after the war is over.


	2. The Fireboy and The Strongman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet the first super humans! The favorite couple act, The Fireboy and The Strongman! How did these two meet if they came from such different backgrounds?

Isamu walked slowly, careful to make sure his footing was heard, but not threatening. The rundown house creaked around him. He was worried it would collapse in on him with insulation hanging from the ceiling and drywall ripped off to see the outside. He pushed on.

“Hey,” He reached his arm out tenderly to the small curled body in the corner. “It’s okay.” The body’s glowing yellow eyes narrowed as the small being hissed at the hand. “I won’t hurt you.” The body quivered, the poor thing seemed to be freezing.

Isamu was on a CPS mission. He had been on many before, but he was still new to this. Yet, the commission sent him to supposedly the most odd case they had.

There were reports of a small, skinny child wandering the woods, barely clothed, being chased around, never caught. But once they found the rank cabin the child seemed to reside in, they sent Isamu to check it out. Alone.

Isamu bent down to rest on his haunches. The child only curled in further away. It knew it was cornered, it was afraid. 

Isamu spoke gently, “I’m here to help you, okay?” Isamu smiled the sweetest look he could come up with. The child finally looked up, it’s face coming into the light, only provided by the sun leaking through the roof. Isamu was surprised to see that the child was much older than he had expected. Probably not much younger than himself, but he remained calm, waiting for the teen to trust him enough to get out of the corner.

In a blur, the teen shoved forward, tackling Isamu to the ground. Dust, grime, and dirt flourished around the him as he disturbed the long still filth. He coughed, trying to stay calm, but his breath increased too fast. The teen unhinged it’s jaw in front of Isamu’s face. He couldn’t even comprehend what was happening before light from the teen’s throat blinded Isamu. It heated his skin and he sat there panicked, but didn’t thrash away from the teen. The light slowly worked until it faded. 

Isamu blinked until the sunspots were out of his eyes enough to see again. He looked up at the teen, who’s hair lengthy had fallen to enshroud both of their faces. Despite the darkness that the thick black hair provided, Isamu could tell the teen was in shock. The teen grabbed Isamu’s wrists and pinned him to the disgusting floor. The older man tried not to flinch against the dirtiness of the hands and the ground.

“Who are you?” The teen finally spoke. The voice was ragged and deep, Isamu was pleasantly surprised at how much deeper than his own it was.

“My name is Isamu, I’m here to help you, I promise,” He pleaded with his voice inflection and hoped the teen could see into his eyes and see that nothing malicious laid there.

“Who sent you?” The teen pushed on, not satisfied.

“I work… ” The teen’s grip tightened. “I work for CPS!”

“ … What’s that?” The teen sat back, landing in Isamu’s lap. Isamu took in a huge breath, relieved to not have the smaller one sitting on his chest.

“We help kids out of bad situations. I--!”

“Oh!” Isamu’s wrist were finally released. “I thought you were the government.” Isamu sat up, coming face to face with the younger one.

“People said you were incoherent! Why… ! How can you talk to me?” 

“I’m pretty good at not meeting people’s expectations.” The kid smirked and then laughed. Isamu felt his face heat up. “Now, How did you,” The teen pressed a finger against Isamu’s chest. “ … survive me literally putting fire in your face?”

Isamu had heard of these before. Super humans gifted with unexplainable powers. Some could be used in the military, others were forced to breed with each other, others could live in society never even using their powers. At this point in time, they were hard to find, barely one percent of the population. But when that number became ten percent and sixty percent of that ten were residing in Korea, the United States would go berserk and start the Alti-war.

But Isamu didn’t know that yet. All he knew was that this child was off the grid for a reason. He didn’t want to be forced to breed or to fight. He knew that this child’s power was dangerous and could be abused in the wrong hands. He couldn’t take this child back to complete his mission. His sworn duty was to protect all children, and he knew that if this kid was put on the grid, he would be in danger.

“I don’t know how…” Isamu was trying to think while the teen tried to get him to answer questions. He couldn’t focus with the cold body sitting on him. He could only frown and stutter, “What’s your name?”

The teen stopped abruptly. His eyes glazed over, as if he had to remember the answer. Isamu’s heart was crushed when he saw the internal conflict. “It’s Kieren.” 

“Kieren,” Isamu breathed out. Kieren’s face turned red. “I think we should make a deal.” Kieren nodded eagerly at Isamu’s offer. Isamu smiled fondly at the sweet kid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love these two so much! More Ellenor next.


	3. Safe Winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellenor's beginnings and thoughts on her position in the world and war.

Ellenor's voice cracked as she cried out. A bullet zipped past her right arm, she was horrified. She was sure she couldn’t feel her arm and was paranoid she had lost it forever, but she moved her fingers to grip her rifle and there was no doubt her hand was functional. She attempted to cover those who were fleeing to the bunker just behind her, but her fear made her tremble so much, she couldn’t hold the barrel steady enough to help.

She saw a comrade limping pitifully towards the bunker door. She rushed towards him and looped her good arm under his shoulder so that he could use her as a crutch. She looked down at his velcroed name on his forearm. Anderson. Ellenor never liked him. He was a cocky prick, but she’d never let anyone die alone, especially when everyone else was in the bunker near meters away. The two hobbled together for two steps until another comrade came to Anderson’s other side. They picked Anderson up enough to not let his legs drag as they rushed into the bunker.

Immediately, a three Medical corps took Anderson from them. Ellenor heaved a breath and let her shoulders slump forward. She forced herself not to start crying right then and there. She sucked in a huge breath and then hurried back up to the bunker door. 

She watched as more comrades came, carrying others, limping, or sobbing. She shut the door as soon as she could see the barrels of the Korean guns through the sleet. The locks were shoved into place and it was over. It was quiet in the bunker as soon as the door was in place. 

When she walked down into the bunker. All she could hear was quiet sobbing and the occasional sniffle. She walked further around until she found an empty soap box to sit on. She looked down at her hands. They were pink from the cold and red from blood. She looked at her right forearm. It was bleeding onto her name. She looked at it aloof. How fitting, she thought.

She looked around. When she saw the strongest people she had ever met looking so defeated and pathetic, the urge to cry resurfaced. They were hopeless. They were going to be trapped down here forever. Ellenor wished a bullet had killed her out on the field with dignity instead of dying from a cold down there.

She looked and found Anderson laying on a bed. Tears fell from his eyes, but he looked to be asleep. She saw his leg and how twisted, bloody, and wrong it looked. She felt selfish for worrying about the nick to her arm. 

She realized how stupid she was for thinking she could be in the ranks along side these brave people when she was a selfish pansy. She was disgusted with herself.

“Take off your jacket,” Ellenor widened her eyes to a short woman standing in front of her. Her messy ginger/gold hair framed her jaw, her thick round glasses gave a small glint, and her small hands made Ellenor intimidated by their steadiness. 

Ellenor blushed, really hard. “What?”

“Take off your jacket,” The woman gestured to her forearm. “You have a pretty nasty gash there. You should let me check that out.”

Her face rapidly cooled. “Oh.” A medical corp. “Isn’t there someone else you should be helping?” 

She quirked an eyebrow at the comment. “No, everyone is under care.” Ellenor looked back out into the room seeing most soldiers with at least one medical personnel. “Except you.” Ellenor begrudgingly took off her jacket. She lowered her eyes to the floor and ignored the pain moving her arm brought.

She felt the woman prodding and poking around her arm, obviously trying to get a reaction out of her. When she touched too close to the wound, Ellenor reflexively pulled away. The woman looked at her with a curious face. Ellenor looked away with a flushed face.

“It’s okay, really, you don’t have to worry about me.”

“Don’t play tough with me,” The woman scolded. Ellenor looked up, growing only more red. “Let me fix it, I can fix it for you, okay?” Ellenor cast her eyes down again with a nod. “What’s your name, Corporal?” Ellenor hadn’t heard the title since her General was killed three days prior.

“Ellen, Ellenor,” She looked up at the doctor, even though she was working on her arm. “What’s…” Her face heated up. “Yours?” Her voice broke. The doctor gave a small chuckle.

“Perime, Frieda Perime. Everyone calls me Peri.” 

Ellenor smiled at her. “Frieda. Norwegian.”

Frieda laughed. “Yeah, exactly.” She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. She bit her lips as she finally started stitching Ellenor’s arm. 

“Did you want to be in the marines?” Ellenor tried to start conversation.

“No, why?” Frieda continued to look at her arm, but seemed to be able to converse too.

“Your glasses.” Frieda raised an eyebrow at the comment. “You have to have at least 20/40 vision to be in the ranks.”

“Very perceptive.” Ellenor cringed when she felt the nerves spike in her arm. “Did you have corrective surgery?”

“No, I was born with good vision.” Frieda nods slightly.

“ … Did you want to be in the marines?”

“Navy,” Frieda nods in understanding. “They wanted me on land. It’s good though, I’d probably never be more than a recruit out there.”

“I wish it was like what it used to be,” Frieda says, quieter than before.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean with boot camp and stuff, you know… there used to be training, now, you have to start so young to become all this… And even then, they choose what branch you’re in based on skill and not wants or mindset.”

“But we’re so well prepared these days!” Ellenor counters. She was grateful to have trained at such an early age. She would have never been physically ready without it.

“But… what if that messes with your head…” Ellenor frowns. “You’re just a kid and you’re expected to be able to give a lethal shot.”

“I’m not a kid. I’m older than you.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Booming and thudding, thundering and rumbling came from above the bunker. Frieda continued her work as if nothing was happening, but most people looked up with afraid looks at the unknown sound, Ellenor included. “You’re only, what? Twenty-six? You could die today and all you’d have were the memories of training to hurt people.” Frieda shook her head. “That’s what scares me about this war. People dying without love, without life, and without understanding.”

“I never… thought of that…” Ellenor admits.

“Exactly. Isn’t that terrifying? To die without even thinking of love?” Frieda finally looked up the two shared an ethereal eye contact. Ellenor wasn’t scared of dying anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More gays?? Hell yeah.


	4. Concealing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isamu and Kieren have a little chat about their standing with each other

Isamu knew it was wrong, terribly wrong. He knew that he had taken Kieren in as an orphan. He was basically acting as his father! He knew that it was horribly wrong to view Kieren as anything else than a child that he should simply be proud of.

Well, he was proud. He was so passionately proud of the younger boy, but not in the way of a parent. The more he looked at Kieren, the more he realized he didn’t look at him as a child, or as an orphan, or as a roommate, but he knew the way he looked was wrong.

His eyes lingered when Kieren bent at the waist, his face flushed when Kieren bit at his lips, his pants got tight when Kieren decided it was too hot to wear anything but shorts. 

He told himself that he’d be taking advantage of the young man, even though he was only two years younger than himself. He told himself that Kieren wouldn’t understand these feelings, even though he was completely understanding of human interactions and was rarely baffled. He told himself that he’d be fired if CPS ever found out, even though, they thought Kieren to be dead.

He knew it was wrong, but he stopped denying it. He wanted Kieren. He wanted Kieren badly. 

After living together for two years, Isamu approached the twenty-year-old. The sweet Korean boy was typing away on his computer. Finding comfort in leaving movie reviews despite the hobby not grabbing in attention in the modern community.

“Kieren,” Isamu said his name, which he rarely did. They didn’t have to since it was only ever them together, and it’s not like Isamu could ever talk about him to anyone else. The younger man quickly sat up, giving Isamu his total attention. He never liked to multi-task. Isamu sat at the stool that was tucked under Kieren’s desk.

“Yeah?” He asked after Isamu sat there for too long in silence.

“Have you met anyone?” Isamu steered off track completely. He flushed, embarrassed that he hadn’t planned out what to say.

Kieren rolled his eyes. “Come on, I know that look.” Kieren moved to the edge of the bed, placed his elbows on his knees and leaned his chin on his hands. “What’s up?”

Isamu sighed. “Nothing gets past you.” 

Kieren shakes his head. “Not a thing.” Isamu looked at him fondly. He was so happy about the quirk of Kieren noticing more than he ever could.

“Isamu,” Kieren put a little emphasis on the ‘oo’ sound of his name. “Tell me what you’re thinking.” He blushed when Kieren stood, his shorts riding up and revealing his beautifully smooth thighs.

“I… I’m embarrassed to say.” He looked down and brought his nails into his palms. Kieren moved to stand in front of him.

“Do you want me to guess?” He offered, placing a hand on his hip. 

Isamu thought to himself, How childish is that? But aloud he said, “Yes.”

“Is it about work?” Kieren reached out and grabbed one of the tight hands. Isamu shook his head. “Is it about food?” He shook again. Kieren placed his hand on his own shoulder. “Is it about clothes?” He shook again, his other hand now placed on Kieren’s other shoulder. “Is it about me?” Isamu gnawed on his lip and turned away, not answering. 

“It’s about me.” Kieren moved to sit in Isamu’s lap. Isamu was used to it. Kieren was very physically clingy and loved affection since he was so deprived, but this time was different. “Is it about us?” Once again, he didn’t answer and avoided all eye contact. Kieren’s long nimble fingers grabbed Isamu’s chin, forcing it up to look at him. “It’s about us?” Isamu thought his pleading eyes would be enough, but he nodded into Kieren’s hand. “What about us?” Kieren moved to grind into Isamu’s lap. The older man cried out in surprise. The atmosphere of the room quickly becoming maddeningly hot. “Tell me, Isamu.”

“I think I love you.” That confession stopped Kieren. While he normally handled situations with teasing and getting his way, his cool attitude faded and his face quickly went beet-red. “Kieren?” Isamu questioned, scared that he had made a wrong move since Kieren wasn’t answering. Then, the younger man’s smile grew to reach his ears and crinkle his eyes. He laughed happily and pushed his lips into Isamu’s.

“You are such a dork.” Kieren teases.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was awful and cheesey. More sad angst to come~


	5. Nine Feet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Famous gymnast, Lolias finds himself having a strange day.

Lolias was the most handsome man in his college. Everyone knew his name, everyone knew the pattern of his freckles, everyone knew what conditioner he used. And everyone wanted to fuck him. 

Lolias knew he was hot as shit and could have any guy, girl, or everything in between. But that’s not what he wanted.

On top of his want to be the world’s best gymnast, he wanted to fall in love. But it was hard to make connections with people without them forcing themselves on him. He didn’t have a lot of friends. He didn’t count his millions of followers as his friends. He knew they only liked him because of his looks. He didn’t blame them, or get mad at them, he just decided to focus on beating world records, becoming more flexible, and practicing jumping higher and higher.

It was one day, when he was perfecting his scissors on the pommel horse when he noticed something was off. He dismounted before bouncing on the balls of his feet. Just out of it, he told himself, gotta zone in. He stepped up to the pommel horse again, placing his hands on the handles. He stopped there, looking down at his waist. He noticed his hips met the top side of the horse. He frowned deeply.

He got down to see if someone had changed the height of the contraption, but sure enough, the legs were both set to the fourth notch. Once standing again, he examined the handles to see if they had been crushed, even though, it was the bottom of the actual horse that was alarming him. 

He saw his own distorted reflection in the metallic handles. He shook his head before crouching down again to change the height set on the legs.

As he went back to his scissoring, he couldn’t focus on his routine because of the strange event. He wondered if he was having a growth spurt, but he had just practiced yesterday, he would have noticed. No one just gains four inches over night.

He didn’t bother to tell his instructor about it because she was already stressing about the upcoming competition. Lolias was her lifeline and was always calm and ready for competitions, he had to stay calm now too, because he knew that her other proteges were messes right before competitions.

The next day, he once again noticed his hips met the top side to the horse. He grimaced imagining one of the jealous girls at the facility was playing some kind of joke by messing with his horse. He got on his knees. It was the same setting as yesterday.

He left.

Something was not right. He started the walk from the gym facility to his physician, a short distance in his small town. While walking, he wondered what could have possibly made him grow so much in such a small amount of time. He was sure the doctors could explain it, but then he stopped dead in the street.

A cold sweat broke out on Lolias’s skin. His breathing stopped, his heart rate increased. He became too scared all too fast.

There was talk of these “super humans.” They were people with anomalies showing up across the globe. It wasn’t hereditary, it wasn’t reversible, and it wasn’t accepted. People could go all their lives without having anything realization of capabilities. But when they discovered themselves, the governments did too. As an irrelevant boy from Cuba, he knew his fate. He couldn’t go to the doctor’s, he couldn’t tell his instructor, he couldn’t go to his competition, he couldn’t even utter aloud that this was happening to him. 

So he made a phone call.

“Ellenor!” He shouted as soon as she answered in her groggy French accent. He was so grateful that his phone carrier went international. He was lucky the communist country let him do that much.

“Oh, Lolias, What’s poppin, toaster?” 

Lolias rejoiced inside, as Ellenor used their codes. She knew something was wrong.

“Well, you know, I have a big competition this weekend, I wanted to invite you, but buying plane tickets is so hard nowadays.” Saying anything regarding plane tickets meant ‘I need out of country.’

“Oh yeah. I saw that on the TV actually, did you know you’re in the commercials now?” While that was entirely true, in their code, suggesting that there was a broadcast with either of their faces, meant the public knew about the situation. However, Ellen said so in a question. Basically saying “does the public know about your problem.”

“No, I haven’t seen it.” Lolias could have sworn he heard her breathe a sigh of relief. But she was too good at keeping up a facade, he knew he’d imagined it. 

“What time do you perform this weekend?”

“One.” It was quiet on the other end.

“Check your email, maybe I’ll be able to find a way to afford a ticket.

Lolias raced home, once he got there, he was appalled to find his eyebrows met the top of his doorframe, he closed it fast, hoping a small amount of people had seen him.

He plopped down at his laptop, legs sprawled at strange angles to fit under his desk.

Once opening his laptop, he found in his email a confirmation link to a plane ticket. He clicked the button at the bottom of the message.

The next day, he was escorted away from other passengers. He knew that the attendants there would know a thing or two about his condition, but Ellenor had been alarmingly prepared. He was but in the plane long before any other people could see that he was now towering three feet above them. He was placed into the pet cargo hold, however, a lovely attendant stayed with him along with the other few dogs.

They stayed in the plane for what felt like hours after they had landed until they were let out when it was dark enough for no one to see Lolias. By this time, he’d grown another foot. The people helping them stared with big eyes. He pretended like it was just another competition. He was competing for the highest jump and he could stay that high above everyone else. They were impressed.

“Lolias?” He gulped and slowly turned to finally show Ellenor how bad it was. Her pupils shrank and her jaw dropped in shock.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“Oh mon dieu.” She then broke into a laugh. “How am I going to fit you in my car?”

It was scary how many connections Ellenor had. Lolias blamed her extensive military training from the day she turned nine. After a phone call and a sandwich, a man came in a long-bedded pickup truck. Ellenor greeted him in English. Lolias took note of his American accent.

Lolias sat in the bed of the truck, one of his feet dangling just above the moving ground. He saw his shoe start to tear around his second toe, the longest one. He watched his foot as they drove. The shoe continued to get more battered as his body continued to grow. At a stop sign, his shoe split in two, separating the sole from the cloth part. The two parts fell to the ground and they continued, leaving it behind. He reached over and took off his other mangled shoe, dropping it onto the unfamiliar road. He clutched his knees to his chest, ignoring how tight his shirt was feeling.

When they arrived at their destination, Lolias was grateful that it wasn’t Ellenor’s tiny military apartment complex. It was what he could only assume was the American man’s home. It was a small ranch out in the middle of nowhere. There were goats bleating as they rolled up along with some cows groaning from being woken up by the loud engine of the truck. Lolias smiled fondly as the sounds reminded him of the chicken farm his uncle used to own.

When he moves to pet one of the goats by the fence, he picks up on the American man’s and Ellenor’s conversation.

“Does he speak English?” He asks her.

“Yes, of course.”

“Hey, I’m just saying, you’ve invited all different kinds of people to be staying with me, ya could at least make sure they can talk to me.”

“I know, Danny, I know.”

“Plus, ain’t never seen one of yours so tan. Not from academy is he?”

“No, he’d be caught by now.”

“Never stopped ya before.” The two of them laugh at this.

“He is changing physically, it’s easy to spot him in a crowd.”

“Right as usually, Ellie.” There’s a silence. The American man continues at a hushed tone, “What am I supposed to do when we get put on duty?”

“We’ll talk about that when it happens. That’s a long time from now.”

It wasn’t.

Ellenor left them. By that time, it must have been three in the morning, but the American man, Danny, led Lolias to the barn that was very far away from the house.

“I’d let ya sleep inside, young man, but ya ain’t gonna fit.”

“I understand.”

“Now, I still have to be up early and out here to work, ya hear. So don’t be all grumpy in the morning.”

“No, sir, I won’t be. Actually,” Danny perked up at his tone. “If you’d like, I could help you around here.” Danny quirked an eyebrow. “Gather some eggs? Water some plants?”

 

Danny smiles wide at the offer. “Well I’ll be damned. If I’d known ya’d be workin’ with me, I woulda welcomed ya sooner.” Lolias smiles. “I’d hug ya if I could, young man, but I reckon you’d crush me with your big arms.”

Lolias looked down at himself, wishing he could pretend it was normal. He was at least three times the size of Danny. Three times the size of his old self. He assumed he’d grown at least nine feet.

“G’night young one, see you in the morning.” And Danny closed the doors to the barn. Lolias sighed, hoping he’d wake up to only be shrunk to his normal size again. 

When he did wake, he hadn’t shrunk, but he hadn’t grown either. His clothes were in tatters. He was embarrassed to say the least.

“I don’t know how we’re gon be dressin’ you, young one,” Danny offered a conversation at breakfast after they had gathered eggs.

“I can sow!” Lolias offered right back. “My Gigi taught me how when I was only this tall.” He practically put his giant hand against the ground. They both laughed at this.

“Ya’re a very talented young man, too?” Danny tried to continue the conversation.

“‘Too?’”

“Well, ya’re already so handsome and so sweet. I couldn’t imagine you’d be the whole package.”

Holy shit, Lolias thought to himself. He decided to put his theory to test.

“Yeah, I’m a professional gymnast, too, a pretty good one. Best in all of Cuba at least. That made me super flexible.” He put emphasis on the word flexible.

He couldn’t really tell because Danny was nine feet away from his eyes at all times, but he could have sworn he say the American man blush. He shook his head as he drank some milk from a pitcher. Even after becoming deformed, Lolias still could have anyone he wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conceited asshole. I love him!


	6. Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isamu and Kieren have a chat about the future.

Kieren’s hair was too long, Isamu thought as he held the boy as tightly as he could. Kieren shook against Isamu’s shoulder, making noises he hadn’t ever before. Isamu tried to comfort him by running his hands through his waist-length hair. He tried to focus on how messy his hair was and not on the sobbing noises his lover was making.

Isamu worked for CPS. Also known as the government. When he found out about his immunity to fire, of course he told his boss. It was better to tell them and let them pity you rather than hide it from them and they force you into whatever they see fit.

It was time, it had been time ever since they met. They had to separate eventually. Even more so, it was time for war. The war was teetering on a cliff. But finding Kieren, being with Kieren, falling for Kieren, made the war real for Isamu. He figured he’d continue working as a child rescuer through the war, leaving the terrifying work to people with bravery. But that was over when that little lanky kid jumped him a burnt house.

The war didn’t mean anything for Isamu, but seeing what it was, seeing what it was about, he knew he had to fight for it.

Who wanted to control, ostracize, and breed these super humans versus who wanted to allow these people to have the same rights as everyone else, with minimal regulations, only to protect others.

Isamu knew that no one would understand the compulsion he felt to fight for Kieren’s rights, even though he wasn’t a registered citizen in any country. No one knew about him or the connection between the two. He was honestly grateful that he could say his job was forcing him to fight, that way, he wouldn’t have to explain why he had to leave behind his typically neutral views to fight passionately against tyranny.

The immunity to fire, he knew it was a great skill for defense and he’d always be helping others rather than actually hurting people. He wouldn’t have to hurt anyone at all… except one.

Kieren clutched at his shirt tighter as he cried more and more. He didn’t cry out “why,” “don’t leave,” “think about this,” or anything to try to keep him from going. They both knew that Isamu’s loyal connection to the government would look suspicious if he refused. After finding Kieren, he even acted more on his best behavior so that if they were ever to be punished, it would be less severe. 

They kissed long and hard that night, slept with each other, but when Kieren woke, Isamu was already gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love PAIN


	7. Safe Winter pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieda and Ellenor meet from Frieda's perspective

Frieda was a genius, but she wasn’t like a lot of the other geniuses. 

When people were sorted into what they’d be when they were older, a lot of their wants weren’t considered. But that was a good thing. Children don’t know what’s good for them, after all. You were sorted when you turn nine years old into factions. Military, Entertainment, Business, Health, and Development. Frieda was put into Health.

A nurturing behavior, a want to help other, incredibly empathetic, she was perfect for the job. But in reality, she wanted to be in Development. 

Development was for inventors, researchers, and problem solvers. They were people who overall helped to better the human race.

Frieda was an inventor. She had created many of her own programs to help her play multiplayer games when she was alone. She had created her own camera mirrors, activity shoes, and drying robe.

However, she wasn’t placed with the geniuses in Development because she wasn’t like them. She wasn’t analytical, or perceptive, or realistic. She was creative.

Her mind flowed like ink from an exploding pen on your favorite white shirt, but you don’t wash it because the ink left a beautiful design on your pocket. But you can’t wear that shirt to work ever because if they knew you liked a pretty design over being clean, you’d be a goner. She wanted to be everything, an inventor, a creative mind, a seller. She wanted to share with the world the powerful ideas of beauty, love, and loyalty she thought of. She wanted to be so much more than the few options she was given. But if she didn’t follow the order, she wouldn’t be a part of any job ever.

At nine years old, she knew this. She knew the system was cheating her because she was different. She wanted to be an inventor. But she knew, if she did continue to invent, her ideas would always be taken by those truly in the Development category.

But it didn’t matter what job you were selected for in the end. Everyone went to war.

It didn’t matter who you were or what you did, you had to fight to keep those with powers, honestly, those better than you, below you. Who could imagine what these freaks of nature would be capable of doing or what they could be used for against. They had to be oppressed now while they were still in the making.

Frieda knew, that it was total bullshit.

She tried to heal wounded soldiers everyday. She knew they were practically brainwashed into believing whatever the government spat at them. She knew it wasn’t their fault that they were on the wrong side of a war. She wished these people would even try to see the other side of this war, that these “super-humans” were just the same in mind as regular people. But they didn’t. No one in the casual military was “super-human.” They didn’t allow them to interact with the others. That way there would be no in-fighting and the government wouldn’t have to keep up with any contradictories to their lies.

Frieda had given up on trying to convince anyone of anything regarding the integrity of the war, until one freezing winter night, low in a secluded bunker.

A woman with a disgusted look on her face was the last person to enter the bunker, slamming the doors. As soon as Frieda saw her, her little gay heart soared. 

This woman was astoundingly attractive. She stood at six-five, her face reddened and slicked by the falling ice, her french- braided hair looking gritty and disheveled from the fighting. She looked like someone who always took charge. Someone that was more than just meat on bones. Frieda tried to look at her ranking on her arm, but the sleeve was deepened red and torn up. 

A bullet abrasion, she needs stitches, the medic part of her brain told her. Make her take off her shirt so you can feel up those muscles, the gay part of her brain told her. She approached the woman with haste. 

The gay part triumphed when she finally spoke to the woman. “Take off your jacket.” After the woman took a moment to look her up and down and process what she had said, the woman blushed. The gay part was going crazy inside her head upon realizing that the initial attraction was mutual. Frieda hid her giddiness in case the woman was a general that would report her. But that giddiness quickly died down when she remembered how the woman was probably entirely brainwashed and had no real ideas of her own.

“What?” The woman asks. Frieda is rejoicing in her head. The woman has a French accent! There’s still hope that she wasn’t a total puppet of the corrupt government. Frieda had told herself that she wouldn’t find love in the army, but her sex drive was on the brink of explosion. She might have found someone after all. 

The woman was disgusted when Frieda told her she was there to help her. Frieda would have felt the same about her presence if she had said something about her being out there to kill people.

The two spoke casually about branches of the military, and Frieda decided, she had to know if this woman was another cog, or a thinker.

“I wish it was the way it used to be,” She said, then looked into the hazel eyes, hoping to see some glimmer of an original thought in her eyes.

“What do you mean?” She looked up at Frieda, which wasn’t very high, from the soap box. Frieda saw a shimmer, the dark lighting magically finding its way into the innocent woman’s eyes. Frieda’s mind was at easy. She could be with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gay gay gay gay


	8. The Inevitable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny has been getting a lot of attention he had asked for, but does he still want it? Lolias and Danny chat.

Lolias sat patiently against the back of the house, playing with one of the barn cats, while he waited for the kitchen door to open.

“Breakfast!” Danny came out and held up a few steaming plates. The American made his way to the extra long table, placing down many plates of eggs, potatoes, and sausage. Lolias and Danny shared a fond look at each other before joining each other to eat.

It’s a nice quiet for a moment, they typically shared meals in silence, but enjoyed loudly speaking while they worked. But something was different today.

“I’ve been getting calls,” Danny starts. Lolias heart stops at that. Had someone seen him and they were warning them before the police came? “From the selective services.” His breathing stopped too. It was worse than what he was imagining. The war was starting. Lolias drops his food and devotes his attention to him in shock. “They want to promote me to Commander General.” 

Lolias’s eyebrows raised at that. “That’s amazing, you’ve been saying you deserve a promotion, finally, right?” Danny looks down at his plate and is quiet. “It’s going to be okay.”

“I’ll be leading people now… be in charge of more people than I’ve ever seen. I don’t want this. I don’t want to be the face that is battling on the wrong side of this war. People will remember me as a General that oppressed your kind.” Danny shakes his head, his voice breaking. The American man was very firm and stern, but he was truly very emotional at the same time. Lolias had spent everyday for the past nine months with the man. He was confident in knowing him. “I wanted this… but not here, not anymore.”

“Is it because of me?” Lolias asks, looking out into the field of beans. The wind was not loud enough to escape the silence between them.

“Of course it is… It’s Ellenor too. It’s so hard…” Danny shook his head. “The people I was taught to trust, believe, and follow, are teaching awful awful things, Lolias,” They look at each other. Danny’s eyes watery. “Awful things,” He whispers.

“Danny,” Lolias starts, he gets up to go to the other side of the table to physically comfort the much smaller man. “I know you wouldn’t hurt anyone if the situation was different.”

“What do I do? How can I support people like you without being lynched by the government?” Lolias gently rubs the man’s back with his oversized index finger.

“You’ll know the right thing to do when you’re given a choice.” They’re quiet, it’s a good quiet. “When do you leave?” His lack of immediate answer makes Lolias cringe. He knows he won’t like the answer.  
“Friday.” He admits. 

Lolias leans down and places his lips on the top of Danny’s head. “I know you, okay?” Danny nods shyly, eyes growing red and cheeks puffing up. “I know you don’t want this, but I know it’s what you have to do.” Lolias feels his heart wrench inside. “Those of you helping… people like me… People like you and Ellen helping us, this is the least suspicious thing you could do.” Danny hiccups a sob. “Once you’re done with this, no one will look for us again.” Danny gives a little nod, even though his sadness is dominating the atmosphere.

Besides the occasional visit from Ellenor, which were always brief and never frequent, Danny was the only person Lolias had seen in the past months. He let his phone and social media go, begrudgingly, but he knew that it was to protect himself.

It was a very different experience for Lolias to not be getting constant likes from his followers, not being flirted with on the daily, and not getting laid every other weekend, but he couldn’t help but love this experience. He had met Danny and the two had become closer than Lolias had ever felt with someone out of the family. He was so grateful to be graced with such an honest soul as his caretaker and cohort.

They both knew they’d have to say goodbye to one another since the day they met, but what they hadn’t known was how attached to each other they’d become. While intimate gestures were difficult for them because of the size barrier, they often comforted each other with light touches, or as light as Lolias could touch. The two were fond of each other, to put it simply. Yet, there was no underlying desire that made Lolias want to turn the cold shoulder. He was certain that it was because of his height, but he couldn’t help but think the situation was very special.

When Danny left Friday morning, Lolias didn’t throw a fit or cry. He just smiled happily remembering their long talks in the field and their jokes they shared after dinner. While looking at the back of Danny’s pickup truck as he drove away, he reminisced to the time he sat in the back of it his first and only time coming to the American man’s property. 

He turned away with a smile, making his way back to the field to continue working.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Isamu next


	9. Worse than Burnt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isamu "fighting" during the war.

Isamu was terrified. But so was everyone else, so he relaxed.

He thought he could fight alongside of everyone who had been trained for the military, just regular humans. But no, the “superhumans” were segregated from the others. That reality hurt him more than anything. Despite being on the righteous side of the fight, he realized that they were still going to oppress the “superhumans” no matter which side came out on top. 

He was grouped with a few other people with “special abilities” and an officer. The human officer, Lee, was mainly there to just tell them what to do, since all of them were lost.

When Isamu had imagined war, he had imagined straight lines of people all marching towards each other with their guns drawn. But Isamu’s job was incredibly different than that.

Isamu was in a scout group. The ragtag group of incapable individuals went into homes that had been evacuated to find hideouts or possible artillery to destroy. They had already been on thirteen successful missions in the past six months, which Lee told them was good progress, but the group felt like they were worthless to their cause.

Hwan, Tadaaki, and Sachihiro, or Sachi, were the other “superhumans” of his band. Hwan was able to see things with his eyes covered or closed in a 360 degree radius of himself. Tadaaki could store light as energy, so he didn't eat. And Sachi, the government's little favorite, could not only detect lies, by some sort of hue people gave off, but could also forcibly manipulate them into feeling so horribly guilty that they admitted the truth. 

In retrospect, Isamu’s power was the only one good for defense. Except, they rarely got into positions that they had to fight against people. With Sachi on their side, they often got through missions quickly since it was simple human interaction. 

Hwan walked into the small hut as their first line of defense. Once the room was scanned, he gave them the good-to-go and the group walked in. Tadaaki, Isamu, Sachi, and Lee in that order, as always. Sachi did a scan for minds with bad intentions. He relaxed.

“No one’s here.” Sachi said with relief, even though he always had the same reaction when there was nobody, which was often. 

“Alright,” Lee pulled a couple of crowbars out of his backpack. “Floorboards first.” The hut was only one room with one door. Lee held the crowbar out for Isamu, the most physically strong one of the group. Isamu was quiet as he frowned deeply at the strange room.

“General Lee,” He says, staring with a frown at the small window that was nearly at the top of the seven foot ceiling. “Where did you get a lead for this place?”

“What?” The general asked, a little too loudly.  
“Sh!” Isamu ordered. He quickly looked around. He looked right at Hwan, who was looking at him with a look of fear and confusion from his stance at the only door to the outside. Suddenly, the door slammed.

“Sachi! Scan!” Lee ordered quickly. Panic erupted in the room.

“There’s no one here!” The only light coming from the sun through the window, suddenly went dark. 

“Lee! The door!” The two went for the door, appalled to find there was no knob on the inner side of the door. The two burly men began to hit the door with their crowbars. Isamu’s ears began to ring because he was hitting hard enough to make incredibly loud noises. 

“Incoming!” Tadaaki yelled. There was metal clattering on the wooden floor. Isamu whipped around to see a bomb on the floor. He looked back to Lee. I’ll save us.

“What are you doing!?”

“I’ll protect you!” Isamu grabbed the bomb and held it as close to himself as he could. “Get to the other corner!”

“Isamu, no!” Sachi cried out as he started to sob, but Lee dragged him to the opposite corner with the other two men. 

“It’s okay! The fire won’t hurt me.” Tadaaki looked away, Lee looked at him with admiration and fear, Sachi watched through teary betrayed eyes, Hwan had his eyes shut tight, obviously looking for another way out. 

Isamu turned away, boxing in the bomb between the two walls and his own body. When the beeping got louder than his own breathing, he closed his eyes tightly, hoping that his powers wouldn’t fluke now when he needed them the most.

Then, when the beeping stopped, he sighed in relief. He saw Kieren’s eyes in that moment, knowing he’d see him again soon. 

He turned around to celebrate with his team, but as soon as he did, a loud noise pierced the air around the hut, so loud that he couldn’t even comprehend the noise. Then, with the noise blanking his mind, and a bright light wiping his vision, he blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thinking you're not good enough to fight next to people who matter? Sounds familiar
> 
> Don't worry, cliffhanger doesn't last.


	10. No Dog Tags

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isamu is saved, sort of...

Frieda would be lying if she said she hadn’t seen shocking things while working in the Medical Corps infirmary. She often had to hold back from throwing up at some of the injuries people brought to her. She had seen many odd cases, and as time went on and weapons only evolved, the cases got more and more bizarre and disturbing.

But one day, the strangest thing happened.

Late at night, she was given a bed number to take care of. She went there, just going through the motions since she was so tired, but when she arrived at the bed and no information about the lying man was given, she became confused. She approached the man’s neck, grabbing under his shirt for his identification. There wasn’t any.

Suddenly, an arm grabbed her wrist. She steered away, but the man’s strong grip kept her in place. He stared at her with wide fear-filled eyes. She stared right back, probably looking even more horrified. 

“European,” The man whispered. The woman widened her eyes at the implication. She studied his face quickly. He was not European, his facial features too soft, minus his jaw. His eyes were too thin, his eyebrows didn’t protrude out. He was not European, not English at all… He was Asian… he was on the other side of the war. Why is he here? She tried to relax, but his grip was too tight to calm her pulse.

“Where am I?” He whispered, looking around. He saw the other beds, men and women littered about them, mostly sleeping.

“This is an infirmary,” Frieda told him. “Don’t panic.”

“Don’t tell them,” He said, jerking her hand forward so he could speak even quieter straight into her ear. “I don’t want to die.”

“I’ll help you, I’ll treat you, I won’t tell anyone.”

“No,” His eyes shimmer with the moonlight coming through the window next to him. “I don’t want them to kill me.”

“Let me heal you, I promise, you’re safe with me.” 

He finally released her and relaxed with his eyes closed and his head resting against the bed. He then covered his face with one hand. Then he frowned deeply. He slowly retracted his hand and looked down at where his other arm should have been. His jaw dropped on the spot. Frieda could tell he was holding back from screaming. She cringed upon realizing that he had only woken up this one time and this was probably the fight time he was seeing his own injuries. 

“My… arm…” He said in a hushed panic.

“What happened?” She sat down on the edge of his bed with him. She started to inspect the injury to his arm, but it was horribly bad, yet not as bad as it should have been.

“There… was a bomb, and we were trapped, I don’t--” He held his head suddenly. Frieda looked up at him. She moved his hand away from his head. She saw puncture wounds around his temple, down his jaw, and disappearing into his hairline. 

“I have to perform surgery on that right now,” Frieda told him with urgency. “You’re luck you have any motor skills right now.” She looked at the large on his temple. “I don’t know how you’re alive right now.”

“That’s promising,” He said flatly. She stood to retrieve a knife and the thinnest tweezers she could find.

She tried to speak to him to keep him calm while she helped him with the shards of something in his head.

“Do you have someone at home?” She asks to speak of something happy.

He smiles in an instant. “Yeah,”

“Anyone would be lucky to have someone as handsome as you.” The two chuckle together. “Who’s the lucky one?”

“He’s beautiful.” Frieda smiled, happy to help a fellow part of the LGBT+ community. “I miss his hair.” Frieda laughs at that. The man smiles down at his lap. Then tears are streaming down his face. “I miss him… I can’t die… I don’t know what’d he do without me.”

“I’ll save you, for him, I promise.” He sniffles. Frieda works faster at the splinters in his head. “What’s your name?”

“Isamu,” He says quietly. His crying not affecting his voice.

“I’m Frieda.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More of Danny next


	11. The Commander General

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellenor throws a fit, Danny watches.

Ellenor burst into Danny’s tent with rage flaring in her eyes. He stood up, placing his hands behind his back, in front of his huge map. He wore a look of no emotion. A persona he chose to earn his place as General in the military. She charged forward grabbing his stupid uniform by the collar. His badges and medals jingled together as she roughly pulled him forward. They both leaned over his desk, meeting halfway between it.

“So, I presume you’ve heard,” Danny said without much inflection in his voice. The usually over emotional man acted so stoic to keep his standing in the army. He would never be found out this way.

“Like hell I’ve heard,” She growled at him, letting her anger take over. “It’s been the talk for a straight forty-eight hours, I’m going to lose it!”

“I assure you, it is nothing to fuss over.”

“Talk of a twenty foot tall man working on our side of this bloody war?” Her nose scrunched and her lip twitched. “I think that’s something to fuss over.”

“He’s not in my quadrant, it’s not my business,”

“Cut the shit, Daniel.” He turns away from her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her hand away from his chest. She was about to upper-cut him with her other hand, but the feeling of his pulse racing stops her. 

“I was just as scared as you, but I assure you, it’s not him,” He turns around looking at the map mindlessly. “He was only fifteen feet tall last I saw him.”

“People exaggerate, Danny, you know this,” She sighs.

“Not to this extent.”

“He could have grown.”

“It’s not him.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Ellenor,” He stops her. “What makes you think he would even remotely comply with any orders from them?” She starts her retort, but he continues. “Whoever that is, is either here by their own will, or they don’t know that the government won’t put up a fight for some soldier. Lo knows how the government works, I can assure you. I made sure that first that he would never ever be found, and second, if he was, he’d know what to do.”

Danny brought his hand to his eyes, covering the intense frown. “I’m just as scared as you… I’m horrified. I’m going to Philipé’s quadrant in the morning to see for myself. I promise, I’ll tell you.” He looked to her, removing his hand. She saw the glimmer of his eyes getting watery. His facade was breaking. “If it’s him, I wouldn’t blame you if you killed me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted Danny to cry in this, but also not, rough.


	12. No Dog Tags pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isamu gets more acquainted with the opposing side of the war.

Isamu pretended to sleep all day. While he did fall asleep a few times, he just remained silent anytime he heard another person in the room speaking quietly to themselves or each other. He had to work to keep expressions off his face and his breathing steady. Luckily, no one spoke of or to him. He wondered if he had been dreaming the whole time. Maybe he was dead. He almost wished he was.

After a long period of silence, what felt like hours, probably meer minutes, Isamu heard a voice. 

“He’s right here,” it was Frieda. Isamu could recognize that worrisome honest tone within the deafening silence. Yet, he didn’t address the kind woman. He continued to pretend to be unconscious and observe the company the Norwegian woman had brought.

He heard loud trudging footsteps. He almost cringed. He was afraid to open his eyes, scared that he would see a horrifying sharp manly general, ready to put his creole head on a stick.

“I know you’re awake,” Instead, he heard another woman’s voice. He kept his eyes shut, but he could feel his lip tremble. He heard the smooth chocolatey french voice chuckle at him. He felt embarrassed that she had so blatantly seen through his lie, but was too far to give up. Then, after only seconds more of staying quiet, a slender finger was pressed into his temple. It was gentle, but he veered away on the spot, terrified what more she would do. 

She smirked down at him. Frieda stood directly behind the woman, practically against her, clutching onto the woman’s arm. He looked down at their intertwined fingers and cocked his head at the display. He then looked up to see the tall woman’s face. Her cheekbones glimmered in the starlight. He smiled. Her face was sharp, but he could see the softness of her smile lines and crow's feet.

“How’re you feeling?” The woman asked, not being considerate enough to lower her voice for the sleeping bodies.

“I’ve been better,” He moved to sit up, but faltered when his second arm wasn’t there to help support his upper body weight. Immediately, the woman was there, grabbing his injured shoulder, helping him to sit upright. He let out a groan, but was undeniably grateful.

“Can you get up?” The woman asked. He looked up at her with the most tired eyes he could pull off.

“I haven’t tried.” He admitted. The woman turned and gave a knowing nod to Frieda. The small woman hurried off.

The woman took a seat on the edge of Isamu’s bed. She finally whispered, “We can meet somewhere quieter, don’t be afraid of me.”

He smirked up at her. “If Frieda trusts you, I don’t see why I wouldn’t.” She looked down and chuckled at this. He followed suit and looked down. He looked back up, his eyes stopping on the badges over her heart. Isamu’s pupils shrank in the darkness upon seeing the truth. A cold sweat broke on his skin. She was a general. A high up. He was screwed.

Frieda returned, pushing in a wheelchair. She unfolded the feet before returning to Isamu and the woman’s side.

“Ready?” He gulped at the question. He thought he was, but this was almost certain doom.

He whipped the blankets off himself. “I think I can walk.” Frieda glanced at the woman with sadness in her eyes, but she only smiled.

“Always good to try first, right?” Isamu pulled his lips tight as he moved to get his feet hanging to the floor.

He moved to push himself up, but again faltering, forgetting his missing arm. He slipped. He realized that he was completely helpless and useless, these women were going to kill him and he would never see Kieren again. Tears started to form in his eyes.

“Do you want to try the chair?” Frieda asked kindly, placing a hand on his knee. He looked down at his lap and nodded, letting the tears go. He didn’t bother to hide them since they already knew how pathetic he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They wouldn't actually kill him, there's nothing scary about these ladies. He just really wants to live to see his babe again.


	13. Caught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren wants to go outside, but at what cost?

Kieren sat on the couch, typing away on his beloved laptop. He always smiled when he was typing. He was the happiest when he was critiquing people. The internet was his only outlet for this hobby, since no one was around anymore.

He sighed remembering that fact.

Except, of course, he would never critique the cinnamon roll that had basically saved his life. Even if Isamu was around, he would only praise the beautiful hunky man. He smiled to himself, imagining the sweet chunk of man cooking in their kitchenette. He bit his lip imagining teasing that he wasn’t hungry for food. That of which, Isamu didn’t catch onto. And of course, Kieren loved the man for his ironic innocence. 

Kieren sighed with a smile as he flopped back to lay on the couch. He dropped his arms lazily above his head. He stared up at the ceiling, imagining the stars through them. He pretended that Isamu was looking at the same stars. But he knew that the man was too far to be able to see the same constellations as him in the same standing. 

Plus, he knew it was too risky to go stargazing out on the balcony. He had made eye contact with a neighboring flat owner. He hasn’t gone near a window since. 

Kieren longed for the outdoors. But inside, he knew that if he was allowed outside, he wouldn’t want to go out there anyway.

He loved the indoors and would be eternally grateful to Isamu for offering this to him. It was solid, it was warm, it was safe.

Until that day.

Banging came from the door of the apartment, making Kieren jolt up from his relaxed position on the couch. He stood up, walking silently to the other side of the door, where the hallway led to the different rooms.

Banging again, accompanied by shouting in a language he didn’t understand. He fled to Isamu’s room, since the door was left open, he slid his laptop under the bed, cringing when he pushed to hard and it made a thud noise against the baseboard.

The banging intensified, no longer were they angrily knocking, but they were hitting the door with intent.

Kieren quickly made his way to the closet with sliding doors, slipping in to hide within Isamu’s clothes. He then became panicked, remembering all the horror movies he’d seen where this never worked. He looked above to see Isamu’s cabinet had shelves stacked on top.

He jumped when he heard the sound of wood splitting. He quickly climbed as silently as possible into the small space behind the shelves against the wall. He felt a nail scrape his arm and chest, but he held in his cry as he could hear the wood splitting more and more. He covered his mouth with both hands, and waited.

There was a final hit to the door, then he heard wood against wood. He assumed it was the door sliding across the floor. He closed his eyes tight, praying his hair wasn’t sticking out, or that the gap in between the wall was too big to ignore.

Footsteps came, huge boots with huge feet, pounding the floor. He heard doors swinging open, and things getting thrown to the floor. He heard so many things, he assumed there were six people in the house.

Then, they came to Isamu’s room.

Kieren cringed every time he heard something else be smashed to the floor, or thrown up from the rugged area. Kieren feared crying, terrified that they were only moments away from finding him. He then heard talking, calm talking, then many laughs. He counted four distinct laughs within the room.

Then the footsteps got distant and the smashing ceased. Kieren finally released his breath, light headed from holding back gasps, he was about to climb down when whistling came. He froze in his place. A voice he didn’t recognize, a tune he didn’t know, inside the small apartement. 

Kieren was too afraid to get out from his hiding spot, knowing that even if he thought no one was there, there was. He wished he could burn them alive, but knew that attacking an opponent he didn’t know was a risk he wasn’t going to take.

After all, they could know of Kieren, his abilities, his relations, they probably would send someone with the abilities to stop him. Kieren covered his mouth again and let his tears flow. He looked up at the ceiling that was too dark to see in the cove, it was as black as midnight. He imagined the stars within the darkness, and pretended Isamu was looking at the same stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is to display how skinny this boy is. He should not have fit in that tiny gap.


	14. The General

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellenor senses something and can't fight her impulsiveness.

Ellenor ran. She ran faster than she ever had. It was freezing, her jacket had been demolished as she used it for a tourniquet for another comrade. She pushed on, completely alone through the snow.

There was a burning fire within her. A fire that screamed that something was wrong. It was only a feeling, but she couldn’t ignore it. She felt that Danny’s quadrant was under attack. She knew he was in danger. She couldn’t shake the feeling, so she ran to the huge encampment.

After running for what felt like hours, and the crisp are burning at her lungs, Ellenor finally neared. As soon as she saw the first tent, a private’s tent, a horrible smell invaded her nose. She promptly plugged her nose, assuming the worst of the gas. Then the smell of burning came too. She could taste the forming charcoal in the back of her throat. She went closer, but slower, to see that deep in the camp, a fire was growing.

Ellenor grabbed her t-shirt, pulling it off and wrapping it around her face. She was left in a white tank top that blended in with the pure white snow.

She ran in as fast as she could, towards the largest tent of the camp. The Commander General’s tent. She moved in to grab at the flaps, but a gust of wind flowed into the tent, making the fire inside grab her hand. She yelled out, pulling back away from the tent. She moved quickly to get help. Maybe some “super human” around had fire abilities. She moved into the second closest tent, five men lay on the ground there. She frowned heavily. As she entered, she felt her nose start to run and her eyes to water. ICt50. She was taught about this is her Navy Courses, but she’d never seen it in person.

She ran to the closest man, trying to see if he could move. There was no response to her tests of consciousness, so she hauled him onto her shoulder as best she could. Since her nights in the bunker, she has gained a lot more muscle. She worked hard to become stronger so she could save more people. She moved to grab the next one, carrying the two men out of the tent and into the snow beyond the edge of the camp. She hurried back in, going to the same tent, but by the time she arrived the tent had already caught flames. 

She let out a cry of frustrated desperation. She didn't know how to save everyone. She tried to go into the next tent but the reality dawned on her.

She could never save everyone. She had to choose who would live and who would die that day.

She ran to the outermost tents, working around in a circle to save the ones furthest from the growing fire. When she had finished every tent, she move in, working on the second line.

On the third circular row of tents, she began to cry as she could now only drag the soldiers in the snow, too weak to pick them up.

This only meant she could save less people.

When Ellenor opened the last tent of the third row, flames licked at her hand. She cried out and only sobbed harder.

She ran out of the encampment to the huge circle of men, women, and anyone else. She ran around the perimeter to see if maybe anyone had woken.

No one had. She began to cry even harder. She was in a panic because she figured everyone would die in the snow of hypothermia before she could do anything.

With that thought, she collapsed on the ground and let her tears freeze on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coincidence or something more?


	15. Desertion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieda has too much empathy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Desertion is the act of leaving one's place of duty with intent to remain away permanently.

Frieda wanted to help everyone, but she couldn't. She knew that the “super humans” weren't treated like the other soldiers.

In every possible place one person could be hurt, there were two medical corps there to treat them. However, this wasn't the case in the “super human” encampments. 

For every four of them, there was one trained person to treat them. Some places were lucky if someone had a healing power, but it was rare. 

They said that it was to protect the medical corps. That the super humans were dangerous and shouldn't be around other people. But Frieda knew the truth. 

They kept them away so that they wouldn't pity them, wouldn't feel empathy for them. They were supposed to be viewed as savage animals. But anyone with a mind of their own could recognize a human soul.

“You’re bleeding,” Frieda offered to a beautiful red-haired girl She moved in closer, but the girl cringed away. She looked up at the girl, who was trying to hide her face behind her shoulder. “Let me help you,” She tried again, but the girl only moved further away.

“Peri!” She heard her nickname shouted. Her body went rigid. She stared at the girl, hoping she would come to her senses. “Get away from that freak.” All hope was lost when the girl ran away, leaving Frieda to face her comrades alone. She sighed then turned around to face another medical corp.

“My bad,” She said. “I didn’t know she was one.” She was disgusted with herself, but had to play the part, just like Ellenor told her to. 

“How could you not?” The other corp shook their head with a repulsed look. “Those monsters just radiate it.” 

Frieda nodded then forced a chuckle. “Maybe that’s your power, you can sense them.”

They laughed at that. “Good one, Peri.”

“Frieda,” A commanding voice spoke. The other medical corp moved away quickly. Frieda looked up to see her savior from the bigot. “You should be inside by now,” The general told her, sounding more like an order.

“Yes, Ellenor, I’ll be in soon,” She turned to talk to the corp again.

 

“No,” The general commanded again. “Now, with me.” She gave a quick nod, then waved to the corp while following the general to her personal tent.

Once the tent flaps were zipped the general addressed her with her true kindness. “Frieda,” Her look was one of concern more than anything, but she was still upset with her.

“I know what you’re going to say, but--”

“If you know what I’m going to say every time, why do your actions say otherwise?” Frieda bowed her head at the remark. “We have to lay low, Frieda. You know how dangerous it is to help them. Their time will come, I promise.” Frieda hugged herself and turned away from the general.

“I can’t keep doing this. Everyday, they’re dying, and I have the ability to save them.. But…” Frieda paused, think about “the ability to save them.” That’s probably how Ellenor felt that day at Danny’s encampment.

She felt hands on her shoulders. “We’ll go to their section, tonight.” Friedas was silent at that. “I have every right to go there. They’re my soldiers aren’t they?” Frieda chuckled at that.

“Okay.”

Later that night, Frieda lead the silent two-person charge to the “super human” infirmary. She took a deep breath and released it, going into the small tent. It was bright in there. There was laughing, lots of lights, and happiness. But it went silent when the two entered.

The eyes around the room stared at them, some with shock, others with fear, but many with anger.

“That’s her!” A girl called out, breaking to awful silence. Frieda’s eyes went to land on the girl. She then smiled brightly.

“Are you alright?” Frieda asked, hastily approaching the girl.

“Yeah, they just grazed me,” The girl said confidently. It was a completely different character than before.

Frieda laughed. “I’ve heard that one before.” She thought back to the night of meeting Ellenor.

The girl whipped off her jacket, showing an abrasion across the right side of her chest and up her elbow. She pointed at it, even though it was too big not to notice.

“We should at least disinfect it and give it a bandage.” The girl nodded in agreement.

“Frieda,” She heard Ellenor. She turned to look at general. She then gave her a reassuring smile. The general nodded, then spoke to the group of less than a dozen people.

“I have an offer for all of you.” No one spoke at this, still tense that a human general was visiting them in the middle of the night. “If one of you takes it, I highly recommend the rest of you do as well, because there will be consequences if anyone finds out about this.” Ellenor sounded so formal, Frieda couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ellen,” The two made eye contact. “Relax.” She told her with a fond smile. “We’re safe here.” The general then nodded, her posture relaxing.

With that, the general continued. “You should all leave.” Everyone’s eyes bugged out at that. “Together you could all make it, but you must find a way back to France. There is a farm there. You could all live there, together, with other super humans. No one would find you there, I promise. It is protected from government knowledge.”

“We’re just supposed to trust you?” A boy asked. He couldn’t be older that nineteen. His eyes had ovular pupils and a strange maroon color about them.

“No,” Ellenor smiled down at herself. “But is there any other general that has even spoken to you like this?” No one answers. “I’ll admit, it's a vague offer, and I don’t have much else to say, and I’m probably one of the last people to trust, but I have every intention of making sure you all live.” She walked to the young boy, handing his a slip of paper. “Memorize that address and then burn it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friends for Lolias?


	16. No Dog Tags pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isamu acts like he isn't scared.

Frieda sat down in the empty chair in front of the general’s desk, leaving Isamu in the wheelchair next to her. The general sat down in her own fancy chair. Isamu tried to hide his disdain for the luxuries the higher-ups were awarded for nothing. This singular woman had a massive tent just for meetings, he didn’t want to know what she had as her sleeping quarters.

“What is your ability?” His eyes widened at the general’s question.

“What?” He hesitated.

“Your ability,” She sat back into the cushion of her chair. “You’re on the side fighting for their rights, so you’ve got to be one of them, right?”

“You sound accusational.”

“No offense, but you’re no fighter.” The woman smirked. “If you had been brainwashed like the rest of us, you wouldn’t be complying with us at all. So, you were forced into the army. Therefore, you have an ability. What is it?” He narrowed his eyes at her for all of her assumptions, upset that she was right about all of them.

He caved, “I’m immune to fire.” 

Immediately, the general nodded with a confident smile. “That’s why you grabbed the bomb?” He glanced to Frieda. She must have told the general everything.

“Yes,” He admitted more. 

“More proof that you were forced,” The general said, twiddling her thumbs. “If you had been trained, you’d know that aftershocks and debris are the main reasons for bomb fatalities.”

He looked down at where his arm should have been, shame blossoming into his being. If he had been properly trained none of this would have happened.

“So what now?” He asked the terrifying general. “You’re going to kill me?”

“No!” The general frowned heavily. “I…” She looked to Frieda. Her face looked upset and lost. Isamu frowned at the sudden uncertainty of the woman.

“Sorry for her, Isamu,” Frieda says, smiling to the man. “You must forgive her. She was raised to not respect you.” Isamu was taken aback. He looked to the general, she was blushing heavily. “Not to mention her being a general now, she doesn’t know when to play pretend and when to be sympathetic anymore.” The two share a laugh. Frieda sets a hand on Isamu’s shoulder. “She-- we truly want to help you even if we can’t show it.”

“I don’t understand…” Isamu was so confused at the atmosphere around him. He was obviously interpreting something wrong.

“We know you shouldn’t be here, not just here here, but in this war at all.” Frieda clasps her hands tightly together in her lap. “None of us really should.” 

“We’ve saved others before, and you’re next.” The general gave a sweet smile.

“What?” Isamu was completely lost.

“We’re sending the super humans to a safe place on the outskirts of Vaudherland."

“Where?”

“France.” The general elaborated. The offer swarmed Isamu’s head. So many ideas were coming at once. “There’s already refugees there, along with some mediators.”

“However, we can’t send you there until your condition is stabilized.”

“What do you mean?”

“You stay here until Frieda has you completely healed and then someone will come get you.”

“So, I’ll be here for a while.”

“Yes, but we’ll protect you.”

“Can…” Isamu felt embarrassed to ask for anything from the women, since they were already doing so much.

“It’s okay,” Frieda said, as if reading him.

“Can you… save someone else.”

“We have tried to save others in the opposing army, but we have issues communicating and being caught. We can’t help any of you commrades.”

“He speaks English and…” Isamu makes eye contact with the general. “He’s not in the army.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I miss Kieren


	17. Frail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren unwillingly caves in.

Kieren was drowsy. But he wasn’t tired. He felt at any moment he could completely pass out, but for the time, he wavered in between consciousness and a dark voided dream.

He hadn’t eaten, hadn’t drank, hadn’t slept, and hadn’t moved. It felt like it had been days, weeks, months. He had no idea. He was too scared to come out, but scared if he waited much longer, he wouldn’t make it.

His body was completely delirious, barely able to blink, hear, and seeing things, but his mind was constantly in a panic of someone after him.

“Hello?” Someone called out. His body tried to go rigid, but his muscles were too weak to do anything. “Kieren?” The voice called out. He tried to widen his eyes in shock, but his eyelids were getting too heavy. His mind screamed at him that something was wrong, but his body said otherwise. “Kieren, are you here?” It had to be Isamu! He was the only one that knew his name. But he couldn’t hear the voice. It wasn’t defined in his mind as one he recognized. “It’s okay to come out, I’m a friend.”

“Isamu,” He called out his name. But his voice was so hoarse, he worried he couldn’t be heard.

“Hello?”

“Isamu!” It was disgusting, he was sure whoever it was wouldn’t be able to hear. He decided, he might as well be killed rather than die of thirst in this tiny closet. “Isamu!” He tried so hard to say, pushed with all his energy. Then he fell.

He collapsed on the closet floor, taking the remaining hanging clothes with him. He couldn’t open his eyes and every sound around him was lost in the darkness trying to force him asleep.

“Oh my word!” The voice shouted after opening the doors of the closet. It was not Isamu. He couldn’t take it anymore.

“Help,” He tried to ask for help, but he wasn’t sure if he got it out, before the darkness won.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lolias next.


	18. Individuality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lolias thinks.

Lolias stood with his arms crossed at the side of the driveway. He watched as a huge van approached. The car turned off, but the air was too hot for air conditioning. A slender woman got out of the driver seat and approached Lolias.

“Jennifer,” Lolias said, with half lidded eyes.

“Lolias.” The woman addressed him with scorn in her voice. Then, others got out of the van. He was finally meeting other “super humans.” He hated it. These fakes would be living with him for however many years it took for the war to end. He wanted this farm, this home, to be one for him and Danny. It was his and Danny’s, alone. But since Danny… was… gone… the property belonged to Ellenor. And Ellenor was making this into some kind of stupid sanctuary for these supposed, “refugees.”

Lolias watched as the seven others came out of the van. He watched them shuffle on the gravel driveway as if they had always belonged their. He upturned his lip in disgust at them. He watched the wonder of children in their eyes. It was pathetic. None of them looked different. None of them were in danger. They could live normal lives and hide their powers. His nose twitched at that. They might not even have powers. They were just liars, using this opportunity, that others deserved to get away from the measly little lives.

“Lolias?” Jennifer asked. He turned away from her, pretending he couldn’t hear her tiny voice. “Lolias!” He picked up his basket, walking back into the field. Theo, his favorite barn cat, followed him into the field.

Lolias wouldn’t stand for these pathetic liars using him, Danny, and Ellenor to make themselves feel like they were a part of something bigger. They weren’t. And they never would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salty boy


	19. The General pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellenor gets some unexpected attention

It was quiet, but Ellenor knew she wasn’t alone. There was breathing around the room. She blinked her eyes a couple of times, adjusting to the darkness around her. She couldn’t see very well, but she called out,

“Frieda?” Her voice came out louder than she expected it to.

“Hmm? Yes?” She felt her there. “I’m here, I’m here.” Ellenor relaxed knowing that Frieda was there.

“What happened?” She groaned, trying to sit up.

“You almost froze to death.” She heard the small woman chuckle. “Wouldn’t that be ironic? After surviving starving in that fucking bunker, countless bullet wounds, and a camp going up in flames, you’d just get hypothermia?”

“Woah,” Ellenor reached out. Frieda’s hand caught hers. “I’m okay.”

“I know… I was just…” The woman was choking up. “ … scared when I couldn’t find you.”

“I’m sorry,” That sat in the air. Frieda sniffled in the silence. “I didn’t mean to worry you. I had to go. I thought, you know, I could maybe save him.”

“The Commander General?” Frieda asked her, even though she knew the answer. Ellenor’s silence was enough of an answer. “Why save him at your own risk? What could he have done for you?”

“Frieda…” 

“You’re worth more than some stupid general!” Ellenor could finally see Frieda’s face in the darkness. Her face was stained with tears. Ellenor reached out, placing her hand on the cheek of the sweet medical corp.

“He’s worth more than you think.” Frieda’s face soured at that. “Not every general is brainwashed, Frieda.” The medical corp’s expression softened at that.

“Ellen!” Someone shouted, bursting into the small infirmary. Ellenor sat up straight with widened eyes as the fluorescent lights blindingly lit up the room.

“Sir!” The woman addressed the Marshal entering. Behind him, five people followed him in. She didn’t recognize anyone of them, but she sure as hell knew a Marshal when she saw one.  
“My dear! You’re younger than I expected!” 

“You’d be surprised how often I’m told that…” She said in a sly sarcastic tone. Immediately she regretted it, yelling, “Sir!” Right after for respect. He laughed at this.

“At easy, Private.” Ellenor relaxed back against the bed. “What you did out there last night was incredible.” He closes his eyes in astonishment. “I haven’t seen that kind of valor since my father was a Private. I wish I had been there for myself, not only to help you, but to see your glory.”

“Sir,” The medical corp spoke up. She was easily ignored by the older men. “This is the first time she has been awake.”

He paused, staring at the shorter woman for a moment, before asking, “Do you know what you did, Private?”

“I remember…” She looks around. “I remember going into save people, but I collapsed before I could save anyone else…”

“My dear! You saved thirty people! Grown, built soldiers all by yourself. It’s incredible how much one person can do.” Ellenor paused. That had to be an exaggeration. There’s no way thirty people’s lives were in her hands. She felt as though she had barely saved anyone. There must have been more than a hundred people at that encampment, she only went to ten different tents at all.

“Ma’am,” Someone else, a high-up, addressed her. “You were to be honored in the morning if all was well, but we brought your medals because… we couldn’t wait to meet you. We had to see you as soon as we heard.”

“Did they live?” Ellenor asked. “The people I helped, are they alive?”

“All survived, except for one super human.” The Marshal praised, no mourning in his voice. Ellenor glanced to Frieda to observe her response, but she said nothing. “You will be honored at noon, all will remember your face as the greatest general to ever grace the Provencal Army.”

“Sir? General?”

“You’re being promoted.” Someone excitedly speaks up. “Your meritorious actions can not go unrewarded.”

Ellenor looks once again to Frieda. Her hate was too hard to ignore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh.


	20. Missing piece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren eats.

Jennifer was incredibly nice to Kieren. Despite his eyes having a glow to them, she took him out to eat where he could eat as much as he pleased. Which was a lot.

Kieren had been in recovery mode ever since the slender woman came into Isamu’s apartment and found him. He had to take the same amount of nutrients and do the same exercises for days, in order to get his strength back. Kieren had no problem with doing this, since Jenn’s home constantly smelled of vanilla apple pie. Plus, the woman’s patience never faltering when he dropped something, slipped, or didn’t wake up on time.

The two talked about movies and TV shows together, which made Kieren incredibly happy, since the woman loved horror, something he could never talk to Isamu about. The poor sweet man was too innocent to indulge in getting purposefully scared.

As Jenn ate a salad with fruits scattered in it, Kieren scarfed down his second lobster tail as if he hadn’t eaten in months. Which wasn’t entirely false. Unbeknownst to him, beans, peas, and instant ramen got old after a year.

Eating at the strange seafood place made him think about how much he took for granted, like warm bread and steamed broccoli. He hadn’t realized how much he missed the simple things. 

“Did you get your toothpaste?” Jenn asked the boy after glancing down at her phone.

“Yes,” Kieren smiled. “You trying to tell me something?”

Jenn smiled back. “No, it’s just that I can’t remember if the house is out or not.”

“We could go shopping beforehand, just in case,” Kieren offered.

“No,” Jenn shook her head, picking up her phone. “Ellenor has more plans for me, we should get there as soon as we can.” She then looked up to Kieren. “But take your time. Eat as much as you wish, you’ve deserved it.” 

Kieren smiled fondly. “I’m done, we should go.” Jenn nodded, throwing some euros on the table before leaving. 

Kieren had been living with Jenn for a while now, and he was so happy like this. Since Jenn lived not only in a huge fenced house, but a gated community too. Kieren happily went outside to Jenn’s pack porch to watch the bird play in the scattered puddles

But there was always that missing piece. If Isamu wasn’t there, it was hard. Kieren knew Isamu had been not only hurt, but taken into the Provencal army. But if he hadn’t, Kieren wouldn’t be here now. He didn’t know what to miss, regret, hope, or be grateful for. He wanted this, to live on a secluded farm with other people like him. And he wanted out of the apartment. He didn’t realize how weak he had become by being purely sedentary. But above all else, he didn’t want to be lonely anymore.

With Jenn, it was fun and all, but he wanted to be with other guys, people with powers, and people who could understand him. He knew that there was no replacing Isamu, that he wouldn’t feel whole until they were together again, but this tiny farm could be enough to at least make him feel at home.

After falling asleep in Jenn’s van, Kieren was woken up by the sound alarming someone of a door ajar. Kieren calmly sat up from his head against the window and studied the house before him. It was narrow, but tall. The siding was painted a blue that was dulling due to sun damage. The house seemed to be really narrow, but had six windows on that side alone.

Kieren stepped out of the van, shutting the door carefully. He looked straight up to the roof of the house, slowly starting to circle it. On the other side, it looked massive. That made Kieren’s smile curl. This was his new home. He kept going to the back of the house when a field caught his eye. He looked at the plants near to the ground, wondering what they were. He followed the field, looking away from the house to see a huge barn. It was bigger than the house. He became giddy when he imagined all the animals roaming inside, like they did in the movies.

“Kieren,” He heard Jenn’s voice. He quickly turned to see Jenn standing there with a burly blue-mohawked man. “This is Eryk.” She gave a little roughness on the ‘r’ sound. 

“Hello, young one.” The man jutted his hand out. Kieren took it and shook, like they did in the movies. “I’ll be the one watching over you from here.” He pronounced his ‘e’s like an Australian, but his ‘o’s like someone from Britain.

“It’s a pleasure,” Kieren said with a genuine smile. 

“You’re a lot smaller than I was hoping. You up for heavy lifting?” Kieren laughs at that.

“I pack a lot of punch.” The man laughed back.

“Well, I’d be getting Lolias to do it, but he likes to be a wank.”

“Lolias?” Kieren asked. Eryk stood back from him, pointing to the barn.

“That’s the tall one.” 

As if on queue, a huge, tanned, brown-eyed, radiant boy came out from behind the barn. The giant was a few feet shorter than the barn. He wore a scowl, but his skin was smooth and perfect.

“He’s gorgeous.” Kieren says, astounded at the huge man.

Eryk laughed at that. “Don’t tell him that. He’ll get even more conceited.” Kieren stared at him, refusing to believe that the handsome man was stuck-up.

It took him three strides to get to them. At his side, was a beautiful caramel and white cat.

“Jennifer.” The tall one said flatly, with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Lolias.” She said right back, neither looking at each other. Kieren sat down on his haunches.

“Hello, sweetie,” Kieren cooed, making eye contact with the cat. She shied against Lolias, but strutted over to Kieren. He let his hand out for her to inspect, before she nuzzled into his palm.

“Be careful,” The tall one warned. “She’s venomous.”

Kieren laughed at that, not pulling away from the cat. “Then she and I will get along.” He looked up at the man, trying to hold eye contact with the giant. He smirked at how taken aback he was, but immediately drew his attention back to the cat.

Then Jenn laughed. “You two will get along.” She then rested a hand on Kieren’s shoulder. “I have to fill out some things with Eryk, but he can introduce you to everyone else later.” He gives a quick nod. Once the two leave, he picks up the cat. She messes with a few stray hairs hanging out of his ponytail.

“You look like some kind of nymph.” Kieren raises an eyebrow, standing up. He looked to the tall man, who was watching him, probably worried about his cat.

“What does that mean?”

“Your hair, plus your eyes, I mean. You know, you have such long hair and then your eyes are glowing. Like a water nymph.”

“Water isn’t exactly my thing.” Kieren told him, starting to walk off to the barn to see more animals. He had only met squirrels and mice from when he lived in the house in the woods. He wanted to see what the fuss about these “chickens” were.

“Apparently neither is talking.” Kieren felt the huge footsteps behind him. “What’s your name?” 

Kieren frowned at this. “Jenn said that everyone would know my name…”

“Well, I’m not ‘everyone.’”

“I hadn’t noticed.”

“Hey!” The shout startled Kieren, since the man’s voice was already booming. “I could show you around, if you’d like.” 

Kieren shrugs. “Why not?”

He looked up at the giant, barely giving him a glance before his mind erupted with questions about how his life came to be. He knew that Lolias was the first at the farm. He was already a legend in the making. Kieren bet that Lolias’s life could make a great movie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't get too excited about new characters yet.


	21. Parochial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isamu struggles to lie.

“Hello,” A girl approached Isamu with a sway to her walk. Her voice had a sweet inflection to her voice.

“Oh,” Isamu replied. “Hi.”

“What sector are you from?” The girl asked. Isamu blushed in embarrassment since he knew he had to lie to this poor girl. 

“Daniel was my commanding officer,” He answered in the most genuine european accent he could muster.

“Oh,” She said, sorrow in her voice. “Did you know him?”

“No,” He gave a shrug. “I barely even saw the guy.”

“I get that,” She smiled. “So you were saved by Ellie?” Isamu frowned at the nickname, knowing that Ellenor prefered her full name. “She’s so brave. Is that how you got your scars? From that night, I mean.”

“Yes,” Isamu answered, which he’d have to tell Frieda about the add on to the lies. 

“You must be pretty brave too.” Isamu frowned at the comment. He had been doing that a lot ever since he was brought into the Provencal army. “Fire is such a scary thing to me. I once met a boy that could manipulate fire, I was terrified. But, you know, all of those supers scare me.”

Isamu felt sick to his stomach.

“What’s that look for?” The girl teased with a smile. “You’re not one of them, are you?” 

Isamu forced out a laugh. “Of course not.”

“Oh thank my lucky stars.” The girl placed a hand on her chest as if to bless herself. “I’m glad. Now, we should go out.”

Isamu’s brain short-circuits. “Huh? What?” His fake accent falters.

“Well, as long as you’re human, we should you know, have a night together.” Isamu thought he was going to throw up. “You want to, don’t you?”

“I…” He glances around, looking for Frieda. “I have someone at home.”

“Don’t worry,” The woman came closer, her smile turning upward. Isamu cringed at the discoloration and crookedness of her teeth. “So do I.”

He backed away. “Please,” He closed his eyes, getting scared of the woman.

“‘Please’ what?” She continued to tease him.

“Please go away.” He shut his eyes tighter, cringing away from the girl.

“Oh,” She giggled. “You’re gay. Man, you should have just said so.” She then leaned down into his ear. “If you change your mind, though, I’ll be waiting.” He shoved her away with his one good arm. She laughed as she walked away from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get pissed!


	22. Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren and Lolias on a typical day

Kieren laughed when the carmel and white cat leaped to try and reach Lolias in the scorching hot field.

His cat often climbed up his clothes, but the giant was shirtless with shorts on today, because of the heat. Plus, it didn’t help that Lolias was sweating buckets. Probably literally. The poor girl didn’t stop though. Not catching on that his smooth skin was too slick to climb.

“Come here, Sunshine,” Kieren whistled at the cat. Sunshine pounced over to him, avoiding stepping on any of the plants scattered about. He lifted her up, quickly regretting it, since the added body heat wasn’t pleasant.

“She’s being so clingy today,” Lolias complained, looking up at the sky. “It’s too hot for that.” Kieren could see him curse the sun. “We should go inside, you’re getting sunburnt.”

“I’m fine.” Kieren said, wincing when Sunshine bapped his burnt shoulder. He grimaced at his own body. He was particularly mad that someone who could control fire at will, didn’t stand a chance in the sun.

The two went to sit in the barn to relax. Kieren layed on the loft, all his body sprawled out so that no part was touching another. He put his hair up above him so it wouldn’t touch his back or face. Lolias sat below, against one of the walls of the barn. He tried his best not to groan about the heat.

Lolias wanted to speak to Kieren, but could only think of the dullest conversations. Crazy weather, huh? No… How are you feeling here? No. What’s your power? Now, that, Lolias really wanted to know. 

Lolias could tell Kieren wasn’t like the others at the farm. While they slept, ate, and hung out inside the farm house, Kieren always stayed out with Lolias, keeping him company. Kieren wasn’t trying to leave behind his old life like the rest of them. Kieren truly needed to be at the farm. He was sure that Kieren was alone out there, in danger because the military would draft him if they ever knew his ability. Which is exactly what Lolias wanted to know.

“Do you have family?” Lolias finally spoke up. He could see Kieren fidget as if he had just been woken up from a short-lived dream.

“No,” Kieren answered, his voice not faltering. “No one I can remember.”

“Oh,” Lolias paused. He was a little sad for asking the question, but Kieren’s tone of voice made it seem like he didn’t care about family. “So, you were alone when Jennifer got you.”

“Yeah,” Kieren laughed to himself. “I was actually hidden in a closet when she found me.”

Lolias forced a chuckle at that. “I heard her say that the door was busted down there. Were you found?”

“I guess you could say that.” Kieren stopped there, expecting Lolias to continue his questions. When none came, he elaborated, “The apartment was raided, yes.”

“I see.” Lolias fiddled with some straw on the ground. “Did you have someone? In the war?”

There was a moment of silence before Lolias heard a quiet, “Yes” from the loft. 

“He must be friends with Ellenor then.” Lolias tried to see Kieren’s expression, but he could only see his feet.

“I haven’t heard that name before.”

“She’s the one that brought me here. She basically organizes everything.” Lolias bragged in Ellenor’s honor.

“I thought Jenn did all the work.”

Lolias scoffed at that. “As if. That woman doesn’t know the first thing about super humans. She acts so high and mighty, like she’s some kind of savior of the beings lower than her.” Kieren sat up at that, crossing his arms with a frown. Some hair fell in his face and Lolias thought it was pretty cute how he looked when angry.

“What do you know about Jenn?” Kieren said the question more like a statement. “You don’t know anything about her.”

“Well, it’s either that, or she wants to be one of us.”

“She is ‘one of us.’” Kieren rolled his eyes. “How would she be able to help any of us if she wasn’t?”

“She doesn’t have a power.” Lolias stood up. Kieren followed suit.

“Yes, she does! She sees heat signatures, you idiot.” Lolias stopped, his expression falling. “She wouldn’t have ever found me if she couldn’t. I owe her my life. Show her a little respect.”

“You did used to look like an anorexic squirrel, I’ll give her that.” 

“Ugh!” Kieren shouted, walking away to the ladder.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“I’m going back to work.” Kieren hurried to the massive barn doors. “Tell me when you stop being an asshole.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big oof. Meet more characters soon.


	23. Hubris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren hopes to receive a letter. Lolias hopes to receive more.

Jennifer gave a look sweeter than honey. She placed a hand on Kieren’s shoulder. “Frieda says that we’ll be receiving letters next week,” She informed the group, minus Lolias. Kieren didn’t know who this Frieda was, but he knew this was exciting good news. “Next time I visit, I’ll have letters for all of you.”

This had been the third time this week that Jenn had visited, which was very uncommon. The woman often only came if she was dropping someone off or bringing over necessities. It was good to see her so often though. 

Kieren heard Molly talk excitedly at Jenn. The sweet girl was a handful for the woman. Her patience continued to impress him, seeing how annoying the girl was.

“You banking on getting a letter, loverboy?” Pete nudged him with his elbow. Kieren blushed and pushed a stray hair behind his ear. “Young love is so sweet.”

“How about you, huh?” Wolt joined in, half teasing Pete, half standing up for Kieren. “Gonna get a thousand letters from all your mistresses?”

Pete made lovey-dovey eyes. “Yes, and I will cherish each one.” Kieren and Wolt shared a laugh. 

“I’m hoping for something from my mom,” Wolt said. “She’ll probably complain about me not making babies for her again.” Wolt made an exasperated expression. Kieren laughed at the typical cliche.

“I’m hoping Kieren’s boyfriend will send a picture!” Bea popped in with her opinion. “I have to know if he’s as gorgeous as he says he is.”

“Honestly, I’m about to write that Isamu a letter myself,” Pete teased. “‘Dear love whom I have never met. Your eyes sparkle like stardust in the raging fire of my soul. Your skin bares my ashes, and your heart cools my very embers, and your di--” Kieren shoved him hard enough to get him to stop talking.

“Listen, I love teasing Kieren as much as the next guy,” July joined in. “But you all need to chill.”

“You’re just mad because you can feel his love.” Bea popped over again to be floating next to July’s ear. July swatted at her like she was a fly. “Tell us, July! Tell us how deep it is.”

July turned their face away from the group, none of them missing the blood rushing to her face. “It is true love if I have ever seen it.”

The room erupted with laughter, easily poking fun at both Kieren and July. 

“Enough,” A strange british/australian voice stopped the fun. “Pete, Bea, groceries.” The small girl popped and she was out of the room. Pete quickly made his way to the kitchen. Eryk then gave tasks to all of them that were still goofing off.

Kieren left the house with a smile on his face, making his way to the barn. He saw Lolias sitting against the wall, with Sunshine sitting on his thigh. He absentmindedly pet the sweet cat with the tip of his finger.

Kieren plopped down right in from of the giant in between his feet. 

“Jenn said Frieda is sending us letters.” Lolias opens a single eye. “Do you want one?”

Lolias laughs. “Of course I do.”

“Do you have someone in the military?” Kieren asked him, resting back on the palms of his hands.

Lolias closed his eyes. “I do.”

“Do you think they’ll write you?”

“Probably not,” Lolias looked down at the cat. “He’s a higher up, it’s a risk to write to someone like me.” 

Kieren smiles, “I’m sure if he loves you, he’ll find a way.” Lolias’s eyes fluttered at that. A blush formed on his cheeks. Kieren was amused to see the giant flustered.

“Oh,” Lolias gave a nervous chuckle at that. “I don’t know about that.”

Kieren smiled. “Do you love him?”

“I don’t know… we never talked about it.” Lolias gave a nonchalant shrug, but Kieren could tell he was truly in deep thought at the questions at his feet.

“Do you feel like you love him?” Lolias didn’t answer. “As long as you feel it, that’s all the matters. You know, as long as you think you love him, you can say it.” Lolias remains quiet. Kieren stands and walks to the ladder to the loft. “I think, if I loved Isamu, and he didn’t love me back, or we never talked about it,” Kieren stood up on the loft. “I wouldn’t be afraid to admit it, say it, and yell it. As long as I believed it…” Kieren turned to look down at Lolias, but he was standing right there, they were face to face for the first time. “That would be enough.”

Lolias then puckered his lips and closed his eyes. Kieren frowned and quickly backed away.

“What are you doing?” 

Lolias frowned with open eyes.

“I thought we were having a moment.”

Kieren scoffed. “Yeah, so did I, nothing more.” Kieren then growled stomping his foot. “Ugh! I should have known you couldn't be more than an asshole!”

“Hey!” Kieren growled again, clenching his fists, his nails stinging his palms. “I thought you were trying to tell me something!”

“I was! To accept your feelings!”

“Well, that's not what it sounded like.” Lolias took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest. “I thought you were another one trying to get with me.”

“You arrogant prick!” Kieren let out a frustrated yell. “I just told you I was in love with someone. You actually-- ugh! You actually think I'd be interested in you?!”

“Wake up, Kieren,” Lolias snarled. “Isamu isn't coming back, neither is Danny, or Ellenor, or Frieda.”

“Danny?” That name was new.

“I could have anyone I want! You're lucky I tolerate you!”

“You obviously can't have 'anyone you want,’” Kieren grabbed at his own hair, stress hurting his head. “You're the one that wants me, okay? I can't believe you! I tried to be friends with you! You obviously don't think of me that way.”

“Wait, Kieren!” Kieren was storming off, towards the house. He and the giant had gotten into a lot of fights recently, they obviously needed a break from each other.

Kieren stayed on the house for three days, until Jenn came back with no note addressed to him. After throwing a fit, he laid in the field, letting the sweet leaves brush at his hair and neck. 

He stared up at the stars. He tried to pretend, imagine, Isamu was there with him, looking up at the stars. But when his vision became distorted with tears, he couldn't remember what the stars looked like. He had forgotten what the stars looked like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I say, 'throw a fit' I mean, burn stuff and be childish, basically.


	24. Bees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bea is left alone to discover herself.

Bea sat on the highest branch of the tallest tree she could find. Bea stared at a small hive of bees right next to her foot. She considered kicking it, to knock it over and end the colony’s hopes of surviving in a world against nature.

When Bea's mother saw a bug, the woman would easily smush it in between her thumb and index finger. She told Bea that it established dominance. That it proved humans as the superior beings on the planet. She told Bea, “never be the bug.”

That was up until Bea's ears started to grow, her brain started to expand, and her eyes started to lose their coloring. The day Bea's ears flopped over so that they were hanging at her chin, was the day her mother left her.

Bea understood. As the CEO of Britain's Hyatt, the woman couldn't be seen with a bastard freak child. So Bea lived in the treetops where no one could reach her.

But that day, everyone was being particularly annoying. She had heard every slur they had come up for the “super humans.” It's just that that day, it was especially annoying. She decided to irritate them herself. She finally kicked the hive, sending is cascading to the small crowd yelling at her. Only, the force of her kick made her lose her balance. She fell out of the tree. She was slightly pissed at herself. Since she didn't have a family or home, she didn't have healthcare. If she broke anything she'd have to pay for it. That is, if they'd even treat someone looking like her.

But just as that thought passed, Bea heard a popping noise. She frowned. She fell a few inches and landed back on the highest branch of the tallest tree. She paused for a moment, trying to comprehend what just happened.

Then, the girl’s smile spread from floppy ear to floppy ear. _No freaking way._

Bea stood up on the branch. She adjusted her fluffy hair for a moment before she jumped as high and far as she could. Then, as if on instinct, just like using any other muscle in her body, a popping noise sounded and she saw that she was further away from the tree. She's continued to do the popping until she was far away from the crowd. 

She then set herself down on the ground. She found herself in the middle of a busy sidewalk. She got many looks, but no one spoke to her. She peered into the shop she stood by. She saw a cute fluffy dress on a manikin that matched her physique.

She grinned mischievously.

The dress was already hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bea is very young. Nine to eleven years old.


	25. To See

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellenor doesn't like the promotion.

Ellenor sat with hunched defeated shoulders in her massive cushioned chair. She let her head hang with no support to show her shame.

“Ellenor,” Frieda tried to speak. “It's alright.”

“No,” Ellenor attempted to reason. “Don’t try to make it seem okay.” Her fists tightened. “It's been two weeks of being promoted and this is the first time we've sat down to talk.” Ellenor heaved a sad sigh. “What’s the worth a few stolen glances when I can't hear your voice?” Ellenor looked up, Frieda was blushing, but her eyes were confused.

“What?”

“Frieda,” Ellenor reached across the table to hold the medic’s hand. “I never knew what the world could mean, I never knew how much I was missing up until you showed me.”

“Ellenor…”

“I knew that this side of the war was the wrong one, but you made me question why, how, and everything!” Ellenor stood up, her eyes pleading with the woman. “I can't lose that. I can't let something as amazing as you go to become another cog in the machine.”

Frieda stood up, shoving herself up and forward on the desk. She lunged forward to capture Ellenor’s lips with her own. She held tightly to the woman's collar, with both hands, making sure the ethereal moment couldn't escape her.

Ellenor pushed off with urgency. “Someone's coming,” She said under her breath. The two quickly sat and began discussing anything to seem inconspicuous.

“General,” Someone addressed Ellenor as they walked in. “I must speak with you in regards to how split up our defenses are. Oh, Peri, you're here.” 

Frieda turned around, standing up. “You'll have to excuse me,” She gave the half-hearted apology to the head medic of Ellenor's quadrant. “The general and I were discussing something.” The medic gave a nod. Frieda fled the scene before she was trapped in a scandal between a general and a lowly medical corp. Sadly, she realized, she already was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "what? They weren't together the whole time?"


	26. Focus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete hates wars, but loves attention.

Pete sighed heavily, letting his chin down onto his palm. As much as Pete wanted his parents to leave him alone and let him rule independently, he didn't want to be ruling during an all-out war. He wiped his face with both hands.

“My lord,” The large doors to the office shied open. Pete looked up from his desk to see his first partner, Cassandra, peeking in through the door. Pete's face softened at the sight of the sweetest being he knew. “Are you busy?”

“No, my love, come in,” He stood up, opening his arms to hold her. “And I told you, you can call me ‘Pete.’”

Cassandra snuck in the door, barely opening it. As she did, Pete watched as she glanced back into the Hall, before she hurried into his arms. He breathed in the scent of her freshly cleaned hair. The smell relaxed him, making him feel much less stressed.

“I'm sorry,” Cassandra said, looking up to Pete. As she did, a few of her tightly curled blue hairs fell out of her half-up braid. “I just worry others will find it unprofessional.” 

Pete leaned down, placing his lips on her forehead. “Let them think what they will.” He stood up straight again, and behind her, he saw his other two partners. Pete opened his arms, bidding them all into him. He let out an ‘oof’ as he was practically tackled by them. “You all know that, don’t you?”

“What do you mean, dearest?” His third partner, Jameson, asked.

“That I don’t care about what anyone else thinks about us.”

“The only thing they think is how jealous they are.” The comment from his second partner, Vieno, made the others laugh. “I mean, who else would dare to fall in love with a Prince?”

“Especially such a handsome one,” The two poked fun at their situation.

“Back down,” Cassandra said, voice dropping to a lower pitch quickly. The other two retracted from the Prince quickly, leaving him and the ever dynamic Cassandra in each other’s arms. “They know I love you most, Pete.” A chill was sent up Pete’s spine at Cassandra and his intimidating voice. Cassandra got up on his tiptoes pecking Pete on the cheek. “We know you’re busy, but meet with us later.” Pete gave a nod. 

Cassandra pulled off, then exited the room. Jameson briefly placed their lips onto Pete’s before hurrying to follow Cassandra. Vieno gave Pete the tightest hug they could manage before rushing to follow the others.

The Prince sat back down at his desk, daydreaming about his partners, too distracted to care about wars anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra- gender-fluid/intergender  
> Vieno- non-binary  
> Jameson- polygender


	27. The Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren is still upset

“Lolias,” Jennifer addressed him in a more sincere way than usual. But Lolias didn't give her a second glance before saying her name in the most sarcastic tone. 

“Wait,” She tried to stop him before he walked away. “It's Kieren.” The name hit him harder than he hoped it would. “He's been acting weird…” Lolias crossed his arms, nails digging into his biceps. “I know you two were getting along famously. You really don't know how happy I was to see you both blossoming together.” Lolias’s nose scrunched up at strange sentiment. “Did something happen between you two?”

“Yeah,” He turned around to look at her. He blinked a couple times. “I guess you could say that.” 

“He doesn't talk as much anymore.” She grabbed her shoulder as if to comfort herself. “I'm worried about him.” Lolias let his head hang, knowing it was his fault. “He was really happy here, you know. Really happy with you.”

“I know… I’m sorry.” Lolias tried to gather himself before he broke right in front of the woman.

“It’s not me you should apologize to.” She swings out and gestures towards the field. Out there, he knew, Kieren laid asleep. He hadn’t slept inside the house or the barn the past week, and he always slept until late into the afternoon.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Lolias tried to give a reason to not confront Kieren.

“Say anything,” Jennifer held her fingers together tightly. “Please.”

Lolias knew as he marched out to the field that everyone was watching him. Everyone knew about Kieren acting weird, so many of them had come to ask him why. He felt like the biggest insufferable prick there. Surely, others tried to talk Kieren out of it, but they didn’t know what was wrong. So, it was up to the source of distress to fix it.

He slowed as he got closer, trying to take nimble steps so that the smaller man couldn’t tell he was coming, but his huge feet made it impossible. Kieren didn’t even move when the footsteps shook the ground. Lolias saw that the boy was just staring up at the sky, eyes glazed over. Lolias took a step back to give him space. He then sat down next to him as gently as he could.

He sat silently for a while, not sure how to start. He occassionaly would look up at the sky to see if something had caught Kieren’s eye, but it was a clearest day of all summer. 

He decided to go as easy as he could. “I’m sorry.” Lolias started. He looked down, but Kieren didn’t stir. “I didn’t mean to assume anything about you or us or anything. I know you don’t want someone else in your life like that. I hope we can still be friends even though I’m an ass that was totally pushing you to be with me.” 

Lolias was hopeful when he glanced at Kieren’s face. It was so blank, he was scared that the boy had no soul left in his body.

“Okay, I really messed up, I’m really sorry. Please, just be okay.” Lolias looked down, hoping that there was some sign of life. He saw his chest rise and fall. It was silent between the two.

Lolias looked up to the sky. He could still see the moon, though it was very faded.

“That’s not what’s bothering me.” Lolias was startled by the voice, but immediately grateful to hear it again after a week of silence between the two. Lolias smiled, forgetting the point at hand, but quickly replied when he came back to the task at hand.

“What is it then?”

He watched Kieren’s eyes search the sky, finding nothing to stay on.

“Danny,” Kieren said the name as if it belonged to a long time friend that had always been there for him. Lolias grew uncomfortable, hearing the name said by someone else for the first time in a year. “Is he dead?”

Lolias swallowed hard. “Yes.”

“I’m sorry,” Kieren said, his eyes getting glossy. “Do you think Isamu is dead?”

“What?!” Lolias shouted. Kieren’s eyes started pouring out water. “No! I didn’t mean that. Kieren, I’m sorry. I didn’t know that would upset you.”

“He didn’t write me.” Kieren balled his fists at his sides. “I haven’t heard from him in so long, how am I supposed to know he’s alive?” Kieren’s words started to be distorted with a tightness of his throat.

Lolias was almost rejoicing that Kieren’s saddness wasn’t because of him and that their friendship wasn’t completely ruined by him, but he remained calm to focus on Kieren and not him.

“The only thing I know I can offer you for sure is hope,” Lolias tried his best to appeal to Kieren. “That’s the only thing in this war that is definite.” Kieren sniffled. “Maybe, I didn’t hope and love Danny enough, and that’s why he couldn’t come back, but you and Isamu,” Lolias paused, swallowing whatever bitterness he had left. “You must love him so much, and you must hope to see him again so much that the universe keeps him alive, just for you.”

“The universe?” Kieren looked to the sky, his tears slowing their roll. 

Lolias stood. “Ready to get something to eat?” Kieren closed his eyes, the last of the waterworks releasing themselves. He gave a timid nod, rising from his spot. “You must be starving.”

“I haven’t really been thinking about food.”

“Really? With all these delicious beans around you, how could you not?” Kieren laughed at that. Lolias smiled, happy to hear him normal again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He's very much alive, btw, just a cheesy chapter.


	28. The Other Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How righteous is a cause if you can't save everyone?

Ellenor and Frieda had sent upward of twenty people to the small farm in France. But they both thought the unspoken question. What about the others?

It was assumed that the other side had more “super humans” than they did. It was a statistic everyone knew about. At first, it seemed that the “super humans” on that side were there willingly. After all, they were fighting for their own cause. 

However, with Isamu telling Frieda details by day and sharing them with Ellenor by night, the need to infiltrate only rose. 

Isamu was drafted, and he said that his whole squad was too. Even though his side was fighting to keep “super humans” with the right to choose their lives, they were still forcing them into the military.

So, Ellenor did what she thought was right.

Ellenor was leaking information on purpose of a fake artillery holding facility. She was doing so to lure in Isamu’s team. She knew that they were all “super” except for one, the officer. She also knew that they would easily listen to her if she first, got rid of the officer, and second, had Isamu’s word.

It was a mission the two went on every night. They went out, drove to a small bunker that did in fact have weapons inside the soap boxes littered around the floor, and waited. The two didn’t often talk on their trips, mostly for fear of getting caught, but also because Ellenor became increasingly tired, staying up every night.

They sat on seperate boxes this night, sharing a soda silently. Then, they heard an engine near, and then stop. Ellenor stood up with a start, very surprised they were here already. She half expected them to come during the day and their plans be ruined entirely.

But they got into position, ignoring the shock factor of the situation. Ellenor climbed into a steel box. Isamu said that it would hide her mind from one of the members of his squad that could sense brainwaves. Until she was inside, she didn’t realize how easily Isamu could betray her. She trusted him so much, but the moment filled her with anxiety. 

Isamu stood up against the wall on the side with the door hinges. He would be hidden when the door was opened, but not from this “super human’s” scanning. Ellenor heard mumbling, then the door creaking open, then three pairs of footsteps before she heard the door slam shut and lock into place. She then heard a sort of yell that confused her.

She couldn’t understand the talking, but she imagined it as some kind of beautiful reunion. By the mumbles, Ellenor was sure Isamu had told them to keep quiet, but by the yelling, she also assumed the general was still there.

Then, after what felt like ten minutes of waiting, the crate opened. A few flashlights beamed down at her, making it hard to see the new faces.

“I’ve never seen a French person so close before.”

“Me neither. Uglier than what I was expecting.” Ellenor couldn’t help but laugh. Isamu gave his hand to help her out.

“This is her?” She stuck her hand out, hoping someone would shake it.

“Ellenor.” She tried to introduce herself.

“This is your last chance to open this door!” A shout came from outside the room. She looked to the door.

“He won’t ever get through,” She assured them. “I stayed in this bunker for three months and not a soul could open that door. We just have to wait for him to leave.”

“That’s it!” They all heard. Then, there was pounding on the door. Ellenor saw one of them cringe and hide behind another. She wasn’t worried in the slightest about some burly man beating on a door, until the latch covering the lock flew off. Her eyes widened.

“Isamu,” One hissed with urgency. “I forgot to mention…” The hinges on the door started to cave in. “Lee is super.”

The door came in, and Ellenor moved to be in front of the group. They were all obviously scared. She saw a man through the door. His arms, shoulders, and chest all horrifyingly disproportionate to his body. One cried out behind her. She looked back to see the shortest one crying and looking horrified at the officer. She looked forward again.

“Don’t look!” She commanded, pulling a gun from her waist holster. She looked into the eyes of the man who looked like he’d explode if the veins on his arms got any thicker. She held up the gun, staring right into his eyes.

“Sir! You have one chance to let me and these men go!”

“You really think they want to go with you?” Then, Ellenor felt the strong feeling that if she shot, he would move his hand to block it, but immediately gloat afterward. She knew if she took a shot, she’d have to take two. One for the hand, and one for the head.

“Officer! This is your final warning, stand back or else.”

“You’re going to die if you threaten me.” Ellenor could see her brain be crushed in one of his hands if she didn’t take him out now. 

She shot once. Like she guessed, he blocked it with his hand. The thick inhuman skin absorbing it and bleeding only slightly.

“You actually thought--” She shot again. Between his eyes, a bullet landed. He fell backwards scarily slow, until his limp body collapsed on the dusty floor. She could hear the same one sobbing behind her. She knew he was scared. She wished she could have Frieda here with them, she’d know what to do, but the only thing she did, was get them out. 

She picked up the crying one, and carried him out of the bunker. He made her shoulder soaked even though she carried him for thirty seconds before putting him in the truck the squad came in.

Isamu put himself in the driver seat of an enemy vehicle. Once everyone was in, Ellenor stood at the window to speak with him.

“I’m glad you’re finally getting out of here,” She smiled fondly at him. “You don’t deserve this.” 

He smirked back. “Don’t get all sentimental with me now, Ellenor.” The two laughed.

“Thank you, for everything.” He looked to her, the starlight illuminating both of their faces. “I will forever be in your debt.”

“Well, when this war is over, how about you treat me to a steak dinner?” The two laughed again.

“Good luck, Isamu.” Ellenor bid him.

“Au revoir, Ellenor,” Isamu said back. Ellenor smiled, stepping away from the truck. The engine started and he was gone.

Ellenor drove back to her encampment, so tired she almost forgot to turn of the truck. She shuffled inside, not another soul making a sound. 

When Ellenor entered her tent, she saw a sweet medic, curled up on her cot, holding onto her old private jacket. She placed her lips on Frieda’s forehead before laying on the ground to sleep the rest of the short night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Officer Lee is not actually super. They gave him something, I don't know, drugs.


	29. Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenn ends up chasing down someone terrorizing Paris.

Jennifer walked as slowly as she could. She didn't want the “super human” to hear her, or if they did, she wouldn't startle them.

Jenn saw the person through a couple of walls, which distorted the image of them, but nonetheless it was a perfect outline. Suddenly, it was gone. Then it was back mere seconds later. Jenn frowned to herself, but continued towards the figure.

Jenn was not currently on an assigned mission, but rather, a mission of luck. While walking down the street, alarms started blaring from the jewelry shop next to her. She jumped back from the noise. The amount of crime had gone down ever since the beginning of the war. Everyone was told that they were always safe within city borders. She didn't even know robberies still happened. She was ready to leave it be, since she was no police, but she took a moment to squint inside.

Within, she saw many colors, mostly the cold blues of walls, but the orange, green, and yellows that were telltale signs of people. While most looked normal as usual, she saw one particularly short one. Not only that, but the short one illuminated a deep purple from around their head. That was a telltale sign of a super.

So, Jenn followed the being to the best of her ability into a building that had a huge “FOR LEASE” sign out in front with a phone number. Jenn could hear glass breaking, as if to attract attention toward the sound, but she kept trained on the small body that she could see through the walls.

She had a feeling that the sneak approach wasn’t working, so she started to talk.

“It’s okay to come out,” Her voice reverberated around the large empty room. “I’m not an authority or anything if that’s what you’re worried about.” She hoped that would be enough. “I can help you, I swear.”

Suddenly, the figure was in front of her. She jumped slightly.

“You really think you can help a freak like me?” There was a slight growl to the tone. Then, the figure was gone.

“Wait! I help people like you, I mean, like us, all the time!” It was quiet.

“What do you mean?” Jenn jumped at the voice right at her ear. She twisted around to see the purple, orange, yellow, and green figure floating in the air. The blue around them was nothing in comparison to the beautiful violet that radiated off of her. Jenn smiled, and relaxed her posture.

“There’s a place, not far from here, there’s more people like you.” She reached out to what she assumed was a little girl. “If you’re hurt, I can patch you up.”

“Really?” The girl move closer, the still air whooshing around her. “Because I think I just sprained my ankle all for a couple of carrots.” Jenn paused. It wasn’t exactly what she meant, but she was more than happy to help this child.

“Uh, yes,” Jenn laughed slightly. “Show it to me.” When the girl whipped her body around to show her the ankle, Jenn could see exactly what she meant. Her ankle was much more orange than the surrounding leg. 

“Oh, that’s pretty bad. I could carry you if you… ” She stopped herself, then laughed. “You’re floating.” The two laughed together. “I have a cooler of ice in my car, if you follow me back, I could treat it.”

“Alright, but only for the ankle.” She smiled. “Promise you won’t turn me into the cops?” The girl asked in a much more timid quiet voice.

“Promise.” Jenn reassured her. “I wouldn’t even know what to say. ‘There’s a floating girl terrorizing Paris.’ They wouldn’t believe it.”

“Oh,” The girl gave a chuckle. “They would know it was the almighty Bea!”

“‘Almighty?’” Jenn questioned.

The girl gave a dismissive hand gesture. “I’m working on it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The world famous almighty Bea!


	30. Drafted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eryk and his brother-in-law go swimming.

Eryk was, in his opinion, very old. While he still lived with his spiked coral hair, thirty was on the tip of his tongue. That’s why, the day he found out he was “super human” was such a shocking day. After all, living your whole life and then suddenly finding out you have this transcendent ability was kind of surprising.

Eryk was swimming that day. His younger brother-in-law, Luca, was with him. The women on beach laughed and waved at them as they worked hard to paddle themselves and their boards out to the open water. 

The two had known each other since they were kids, and Eryk was more than grateful that he was the one to marry his little sister. They trusted each other, knew each other. They went boarding and snorkeling together on a regular basis. 

So when Luca’s board swept out from under him, Eryk was not alarmed whatsoever. It was when the man did not resurface after half a minute, that he started to panic. He poked his head underwater, but his vision was distorted. Luckily, the water was particularly clear on the Jervis Bay beach.

Eryk saw the figure of a person, but was terrified he was imagining it. 

He swam down, but he was promptly hit by one of the boards. He yelled out, but the water invaded his mouth. He resurfaced for air before trying again. He went under and stared, keeping his eyes trained on Luca. The moment he blinked, a current swept up on his feet and he was knocked a whole meter away from his brother-in-law.

His mind began to completely panic. He couldn’t think about anything but losing Luca to the sea. He couldn’t help but imagine his funeral. How they would have to keep the casket closed to hide his blue oxygen-deprived skin. 

Eryk reached his arm out under the water, as if reaching for Luca, even though, he was multiple meters away. Then, he swore, Luca’s body started to move towards him. His body sped up at an incredible rate until Eryk had his arms around him and above the water. He didn’t feel Luca’s breathing.

Eryk reached his arm out towards a board that was too far away, he could barely see it. But once again, it hurtled towards him. He grabbed the board with one hand and got Luca up on it as quickly as he could. He then straddled the board himself and looked to the beach. 

They were so far away, Eryk was worried Luca would be too far gone by the time they got there. 

He reached his hand out to one of the trees at the beach. He prayed to the gods that this would work. He pulled on the trees with his intuition, like he had with the others, but the tree, being too massive and deeply rooted, didn’t move. Instead, the board, bodies and all, flew across the water and crashed into the sand.

“He’s not breathing!” Eryk shouted, grabbing Luca and dragging him into the dry sand. Immediately, Luca’s mother was there, compressing Luca’s chest repeatedly. 

Eryk collapsed on the ground next to them. He felt like he had just bench pressed a thousand kilos. He let his fatigue take him over, falling asleep on the hot windy beach.

***

Eryk and his lover stood nervously in the small kitchen. Eryk had relayed his story to his mother, Luca’s mother, his sister, his lover, and all his in-laws. Luca was fine and breathing once again, but no one had yet to thank Eryk. He knew why, as did his lover.

This meant Eryk was a “super human” and all “super humans” were to be reported to the authorities immediately. And once they were reported, they were drafted. Eryk knew his fate, but would it be his family to do it?

***

Mere hours later, two men knocked on the door. Eryk’s lover cried in his arms, but let him leave. They both knew it was safest to not fight them. As compliant as Eryk was, his mind still screamed at him to fight them. They had to be human, and since he had a power, he could surely overpower them.

Once outside, however he was glad he didn’t listen to his mind, because he saw half a dozen emergency vehicles surrounding his home. Each car, accompanied by two of their own authorities. All of them were at the ready to end Eryk if he made a wrong move.

Eryk was placed in the back of a car as if he was some kind of criminal. He watched the beach roll by and away, knowing, he’d never return.

***

One year and seven months into his service with the Provencal Army, two women came into the “super human” infirmary. His arm had been broken when he pulled a gun towards himself and didn’t catch it. 

Eryk stared with disdain at the heavily decorated general, as the other medic woman hurried to help his comrade, Marilyn. 

The general spoke, “I have an offer for all of you.” Eryk smiled at the general for a moment. He wondered how old she was for a moment. Her smooth sweet soft face would tell you one way, and the beginnings of white hair in her french braid would tell you the another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The time Eryk was betrayed by his entire family or How Eryk found his powers.
> 
> What should Eryk's sexuality be?


	31. Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren has a nightmare.

Kieren woke up with a start. He looked around and was surprised to see Sunshine resting between his legs. Not only that, but to see a giant foot, not too far from him.

“Are you alright?” He heard Lolias’s voice. He didn’t look up. Instead, he just rested his head back down onto the thigh of the giant. “You were crying in your sleep. You stopped when I picked you up.”

“Well,” Kieren paused, as Sunshine did a small cat stretch against him. “Thank you.”

“Was it a bad dream?” Lolias asked. Kieren wished the giant would quiet down so he could go back to sleep, 

“What time is it?” Kieren asked instead of answering.

“It's mid morning, probably four o'clock.” Kieren let out a groan. Figures he'd wait up at a time alone and have to answer to Lolias with no one else to bail him out. Lolias chuckled. Kieren looked down to see Sunshine rising up, starting to walk down Lolias's leg.

“Are you okay, Kieren?” He shifted uncomfortably on his leg.

“I'm fine.” He heard his own voice contradict his words. Then, he frowned to himself. He finally looked up to the giant's face. “Have you been awake this whole time?”

“I couldn't sleep. I'm glad I didn't now.” Lolias put his hand down next to the boy on his leg. “Kieren.” He didn't look up at him. “What's wrong?”

Kieren held his breath, not wanting to speak. But he knew he would.

“I’ve been alone all my life,” Kieren started, not wanting to finish, hoping Lolias would interrupt him. “But I've never felt this alone before.”

“You've been alone all your life?” Lolias placed a finger on Kieren’s head, brushing at his ridiculously long hair. “What do you mean?”

Kieren was quiet. He then relaxed into Lolias's hand. “When I was younger, younger than I can remember, I had my ability. It was so long ago, no one even… understood what I was. Super humans weren't a known thing.”

“You were one of the first ones,” Lolias spoke with regret and worry in his voice.

“I guess you could say that.” Lolias pet at Kieren more. It was comforting, distracting Kieren from the fact that he was trusting someone else other than Isamu.

While he did trust Lolias, he recognized that Isamu and Lolias were very different. On one had, Lolias was much more insensitive than Isamu. When Kieren and Lolias talked, it was sarcastic and joking, most the time. With Isamu, it was heartfelt and genuine. While the counterparts both had their moments on the other side of the spectrum, Kieren still wasn’t sure how serious to be with Lolias and when. 

He decided, Isamu wasn’t there right then. So he’d have to make due if he wanted someone to confide in.

“My family,” Kieren paused. “They left me, when they found out about me. I don’t blame them.” He hid his face on Lolias’s fingertip. “I’ve been alone since, but the day Isamu found me…” Kieren looked up to try and see the stars through any holes in the ceiling. “I was whole. Something inside me filled. I knew it was destiny the moment I could see the stars in his eyes when the world was full of darkness.

“But then he was taken away.” Kieren looked down, he clutched his hands in two tight fists. “I’m so empty. When he’s not here it’s like this fire inside me, trying to escape, trying to burn everything to the ground. And I try so, so hard to push it down, but I need him. He keeps them down, yet kindles my heart every night.” Kieren clutched his shirt tightly.

“Was he drafted?” Lolias asked.

“Yes,” Kieren shook his head. “As soon as they found out he had abilities, he was gone.”

“What ability?” Lolias pushed on.

“He’s immune to fire,” Kieren scoffed. “It was destiny.”

“What about you? Your ability? Why weren’t you drafted? … Were you drafted?” Lolias hesitated. His chest starting to ache when he realized how little he really knew about the only person at the farm he called his “friend.” He was embarrassed to admit how distant he and Kieren truly were.

“No one knew about me.” Kieren crossed his arms. “Isamu kept me hidden because he knew I’d be drafted. I’m a weapon… That’s all I’ll ever be.”

“Hey, no, no,” Lolias reached down, pushing Kieren’s hair behind his ear as best as he could. “Your ability… It doesn’t make you any less of a human being, okay?” Lolias paused, hoping Kieren would nod. The boy only sniffled back a sob. “You choose what you are, okay? You don’t have to be a weapon.” Kieren looked up, hope in his expression. “What… is your ability?”

Kieren’s face flushed. “You don’t know?” He asked, his voice shocked. 

“I really don’t talk to Jennifer… I know she told everyone else.” Kieren laughed, a bitter laugh. Lolias chuckled too, but more of embarrassment.

“I’ll show you.” Kieren hopped down from Lolias’s leg and walked to the barn door. He stood out in the grass and took a deep breath. Lolias watched from the door, waiting. 

Kieren threw his head back, looking up to the sky. The stars still shined bright, but the sun on the horizon threatened to take them away. He wondered if, one day, he’d burn as bright.

Kieren opened his mouth and released all the building anger and frustration he’d been feeling. It was all too bright as he lit up the sky. So bright, that his eyes started to water. He closed them, but tears continued down his temples and into his hairline. He brought his hands into his chest to hold himself, but it was a cold meaningless embrace. He needed Isamu back.

Kieren opened his eyes, after what felt like hours and sat down on the ground. He then covered his face with his hands. His lips were hot coals, but his eyes stung with the most bitter heat.

“Kieren?” He heard Lolias call. “Are you alright?”

He looked up, his smile showing his pure white teeth. “I just need some sleep.” The two shared a laugh at that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pete made fun of Kieren before,,, wonder why


	32. Value

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> July gets a back story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In a world of chaos and war, who writes the rules?

July was a soft spoken girl. It's not that she was timid, she just didn't force herself to be out there. Perhaps it was because all around her we're like-minded people, and she thought very differently. Sure, the military was great and all, and the home team was what you always cheered for, even though they never won, but what about the growing problem? Tensions between countries? No one spoke a word of it, just keep cheering.

It was one day, that the cheering was too loud in July's head. 

Her parents, her older and younger brothers, and of course her sister, not to mention, all their significant others, were all in the living room in front of the big screen. July sat in an armchair, between the recliner her Papa sat in, and the love seat her Mama, brother, and his darling of the week, all sat together. 

As July stared blankly into the screen, the opposing team to their beloved state, scored their point.

July's Papa groaned, a few boys on the floor covered their eyes, and her brother leapt from his seat. July felt waves of emotions go into her. Disappointment. Frustration. Anger. Confusion. July grabbed her head, falling into her hand.

She looked over to the love seat. 

“Mama,” She said with the feelings still in her. “I don't feel so good.”

“Baby, I wouldn't either after that atrocity.” July grabbed at her own hair. “Baby?”

“Mama,” She felt waves of worry, confusion, and sadness run through her more. “I’m feeling things.”

“Anna, what's wrong with her?” Confusion. Anger. 

“I don't know! She said she's feeling things.” Anxiety. Frustration.

“July?” Her brother, Joel, asked. “Are you alright?” Confusion. Pride. Anxiety.

July stood up. “Mama,” she said as she rushed out of the room and into the small kitchen. She collapsed in a chair at the small table. She sighed in relief, feeling her own emotions alone.

Her Mama quickly joined her. Anxiety. She sat down in the only other chair at the table. “What's wrong, baby?” She grabbed July's hand that was resting on the tabletop.   
“Mama…” She looked into the older woman's eyes. “How do you feel right now?” She asked, even though she knew the answer.

“I'm worried, darling,” She rubbed July's hand. “Worried about you.”

July shook her head, feeling it, knowing it, recognizing it. “I can feel it,” She stuttered. “I can feel your worry. And Joel's fear, and Papa's impatience.” Her Mama looked down at her hand.

“Baby…” Her Mama sounded so upset. Worry. Sadness. “Don't tell me you're one of them.”

The thought hadn't even come to July. That she was feeling others’ feelings. That that somehow made her gifted.

“Mama, no!” July pleaded, but she knew the rules.

“I'm sorry, baby.” Regret. Sadness. Fear. “You know they'll find out eventually. Then how will we look? Traitors, they'll call us. They'll go easy on us, and even you if we take care of this demon now.”

“Mama…” But her Mama was reaching for the landline. “Mama! I can't do it! I can't go into the army. I can't kill! You don't know what they make the supers do!”

“Yes, this is Sherry.” Her Mama looked right at her. She lowered her head. “It's good to hear from you too, Tom.” July covered her face. “It's my July, Tom. She's become a super human.” 

***

When July stood with a rifle in her hand, she thought to herself, ‘what good does my power have in fighting a war?’ She felt the rage, the fear, and the loyalty everyone else felt. She wondered if she was numb inside, she couldn't find her own emotions. 

She saw a ten foot tall man smash other men with his bare hands. She saw a man pull guns out of other men's hands from a hundred feet away. She saw a woman's body absorb bullets. 

All of them, so useful in the cause against themselves. She wondered what could they possibly want with someone that can read emotions.

It was when a bullet entered her shoulder, shattering her clavicle, and knocking her off her feet when she finally understood. 

The life of a human being is so fragile and so valuable. But there is no value in a “super human.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor baby girl.


	33. Neutrality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete must write to decide which side of the war to be on before he's taken out of power.

Pete sat at his desk. He was doing a lot of that recently. Ignoring supervisors, pretending nothing was wrong, and setting up their position in the war before it was too late. No one could speak to him to try and convince his any other way. As much panic as he was in, he worked day and night to guarantee his men would fight on the proper side of the war. 

If he didn’t finish and let the eastern world know he was on their side, people like his uncle would take power and make that decision for him. It would be his parents rule all over again. While the country had remained neutral for the beginning of the war, he knew that would change as soon as he was gone.

“Pete,” The door opened without his unlocking it. He jumped slightly at the sudden break in his thought process. “I’m sorry, I had to see you!”

“Cassandra, please,” She came close to him, he wished her to stay, but knew she should leave. Her voice soothed him, making him feel like he was losing wrinkles on his face. “You must understand.” He ignored her as she attached himself to his side. In his chair, he could feel their heartbeats together through the leather. He felt intoxicated and at easy, but he knew he needed to get back to work.

“My lord,” She placed his hand on Pete’s head. Pete then felt intense happiness run through him. “I’m a super too,” She whispered under her breath. His mind went blank. “What do I do, my love?”

Pete stood up, shoving his chair back, and grabbing Cassandra’s shoulders. “Cassandra, no one can know of this.”

“Please, Pete!” Pete could see the sadness in Cassandra’s eyes. Would his eyes poor tears?

“You cannot tell another soul, I implore you.” He shook his head. He could feel his lover trying to soothe him, make the pain duller, but he couldn’t help but feel the dread consuming his every part. “Jameson, Vieno, they,” He choked. “They can’t lose both of us.” He brought Cassandra to rest his head on his shoulder. “You must care for them… without me.”

“I’m so scared, Pete.” Cassandra shook his head on his shoulder. “What if they hurt you?”

“No one can touch me when you’re on my side.” He planted a kiss on his forehead before sitting back down. He began to frantically write. His partner stood at his side. He could feel her trying to calm him, but he knew how he couldn’t take his situation without high anxiety.

The doors busted open less than an hour later. He stood up at his desk, placing his hands together behind himself. Cassandra latched onto his arm.  


"Gentlemen,” Pete smiled. “Perhaps we could share a drink or two before we must leave.” Behind two men dressed in tan, with belts packed with utilities, Pete’s sister, Gabrielle, walked in. She had a crooked smile on her face, but looked genuinely happy. 

“Finally talking like a real politician, Peter?” She threw her arms out in a sweet welcoming gesture. “I’m almost impressed.” Jameson and Vieno ran in behind the small group of guards, Pete’s sister, and a few other relatives. “We won’t be having a drink today,” Gabrielle continued. “At least, you won’t be.”

Two guards had their guns aimed at Pete, two others slowly approached his sides. Cassandra tried to push himself closer to Pete. Pete looked over to the guard on his opposing side. The man had his taser out.

“Don’t hurt him!” Pete looked to see Vieno shout.

“Please, hush hush,” Pete tried to soothe the atmosphere. “Please,” He addressed the approaching guard. “I will not use anything on you, I swear.”

“I’m sorry, your highness,” The guard spoke in an uncertain voice. “Regulations are regulations.” 

Pete bowed his head. “I thought you’d think better of me.” 

He looked to Cassandra. “You must let me go, my love.”

“Don’t!” Vieno tried to intervene, but another guard was already holding them back.

“I cannot,” Cassandra tried. “I swore to protect you.”

“This is how you must protect me,” Pete grabbed his hand and pushed it off of himself. He turned to the guard. He could hear the clicking of the taser. It horrified him.

“Sir,” He tried to reason with the guard for the last time. “I promise to you that I will not try to harm you or escape in anyway. That is not necessary.”

He saw true regret in the guard’s eyes. “I know, Prince.” And the man brought the taser to meet with the Prince’s body.


	34. Age

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren questions the age of the people around him.

Kieren walked inside of the farmhouse to get Eryk to come outside. The others needed his help in the field after some horseplay which ended in a wheelbarrow upside down in a tree and missing a handle. They sent Kieren because the older man never got mad at him. Why, they didn’t know. But no matter what, Kieren wouldn’t be blamed for anything.

Approaching the stairs into the basement, where Eryk often took care of the fundamental paperwork, Kieren heard something. He paused as he was reaching for the knob to the downstairs. He listened for a moment. He could hear muffled sniffling and sobbing. He looked to the other set of stairs in worry. He shook his head before hurrying down.

He thought to himself as he ran down the stairs. I’ll get Eryk first, then take care of whatever else is happening.

Eryk sat with one hand on his forehead, and the other on a telephone against his ear. He took it away from his face as soon as he saw Kieren.

“What is it, young one?”

“It’s the wheelbarrow. There was a little accident.” Eryk let out a long sigh.

“I’m glad you came to me.” Eryk headed for the stairs. “Last time there was an ‘accident,’ it got Pete a broken bone.”

Kieren hurried to follow him up the stairs. “You’ll probably be able to catch it. But I know bigger things can be hard for you…”

Eryk scoffed. “The wheelbarrow is nothing.” And he was out the door, trudging towards the tree where Pete, July, and Lex all stood, making their mistake apparent.

Kieren watched as Pete gave a shy guilt-filled wave and smile to Eryk. Kieren could only imagine the look of disapproval Eryk threw right back.

Kieren turned around and headed to the stairs. He could only hear the crying more and more as he reached the top. He could tell the owner of the voice was trying to mask the sound, but was having a rough time. Kieren walked, glancing into the rooms that had the door open. 

He saw a few of the children playing, but for the most part they were empty, since everyone was already outside working. 

It was the second to last door on the right that he heard the crying.

It was the room Pete, Bea, July, Wolt, and Aki all shared. There was many times that they begged and asked for Kieren to share the room with them during the nights. He almost accepted on the nights when the air was particularly brisk, but he continued to share the barn with Lolias. Even though the giant was a total jerk, Kieren knew he was Lolias's only friend.

He grabbed the door handle, twisting it quickly. He knew no element of surprise could work on the owner of the voice behind the door. He opened it to see Bea on the lower bunk of the second bed. 

Kieren approached with haste, but was stopped by the muffled distorted voice. “Close the door.” He shut it with a smile.

“That doesn't really matter when I can hear you through the whole house.” Kieren attempted to lighten the mood.

Bea gave a half scoff, half laugh. “I don't mind you hearing, dumby.” She looked up to him from behind her pillow. Her face was streaked with tears and puffy red, but her smile held.

“I'm sorry, I'm okay, really.” Bea wiped one of her cheeks, but the tears were immediately replaced. 

“We can talk, you know, about anything?” Kieren offered. He gestured towards the bed, asking permission to sit. The younger girl gave a small nod. 

“I don't know, Kieren.” She looked out the window. Her view faced the only road near the farm. “I've just been thinking a lot. More than I should.” She gave a bitter laugh.

“It's okay to think. I've been thinking too. We all like to overthink sometimes.” Kieren clasped his hands together. “Tell me what you've been thinking.”.

Bea looked into his eyes. She started sniffling and her face lost all composure. “I'm a freak!” She buried her face in the linen. Kieren frowned, but understood. He heard her speak through the pillow. “I'll never get to be a real kid again. I'll never see my mom again. It doesn't matter what I do! I can't even go into the streets looking like this!” Bea grabbed her ears.

“Hey, hey,” Kieren grabbed her wrists to pull her away from herself. “I know how you feel. I lost my mother because of this too, but listen,” Kieren glanced around. 

“If your mother can't love you like this, then she couldn't love you at all.” Bea's tense face relaxed, but the tears still ran. “Here, love is everywhere. I can't seem to get away from it.” Bea laughed. “This is where we belong. With these accepting, loving, caring people. We're all different, but we can learn to understand each other more and more.” Kieren pulled away from the small girl. 

“Cry as much as you need, but you don't have to hide that from all the people that love you.” Bea smiled before leaping into Kieren's arms. He gave her an awkwardly positioned hug before standing and leaving, shutting the door behind him. 

He walked to where the children played. He stared at them for a moment before leaving with a strange realization. The children were probably just as old as Bea. Since Bea had physical “super human” attributes, she must have developed them long after she was born. Meaning, Bea's mother must have left her recently. Bea had known her life with her mother and nothing else.

But Kieren? Kieren's mother was gone long before he could remember. Kieren had always taken care of himself.

Kieren had thought Bea and himself were very alike, but he now saw the difference.

Kieren was an adult. And Bea couldn't be more than half his age. Kieren hurried to the barn he saw Lolias moving hay within.

“Lolias, how old are you?” The giant raised a well-kept eyebrow.

“Not sure. Haven't exactly been watching the calendar. Last birthday I had was nineteen.” Kieren almost fainted. The same thing went for Lolias. Her had only become super a day before he arrived at the farm.

Lolias looked down on everyone else for faking having a hard life, but who was he to talk?

“Kieren!” He turned to see Eryk at the door. Kieren looked at him. He was so old. And “super humans” started to pop up meer years ago. And yet Eryk was the leader, the counselor, the person in charge, of this strange farm.

“Can you come here?” Kieren hurried out of the barn to help Eryk, not voicing any of his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kieren isn't an asshole like Lolias, it's just shocking to him how young and old the people around him are.
> 
> His main thought is that he wasn't traumatized by his power or losing his family, because it's all he's ever known, but the people around him, their lives have been ruined by becoming super and the war.


	35. To Hide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieda is gay.

Frieda knew she was attracted to women from a very young age. She didn’t like to dress up as a boy, or keep her hands dirty, and she didn’t play with the boys. She loved to be around girls and loved to be girly. 

Girls were complex and confusing, and Frieda loved it. To break down a boy was to unscrew a screw. To break down a girl was to perform a brain transplant.

And oh, the girls would get upset. They hated being all figured out, especially if you told them, and that only added to the mystery. 

However, when Frieda hit puberty, she knew what all that added up to. 

The curve of a woman's body. The redness of a girl's cheeks. The plumpness of their lips.

When Frieda was young, she wasn't at all afraid to hide her attraction. She never felt the need to conceal what she felt.

But now, was a different time.

The woman she was most attracted to, more than anyone else before, was a general. No one could know about them. The two stole nights to have together, but it was a constant risk.

Even though Frieda dating a superior was highly unprofessional, that wasn't why they had to hide.

Everyone knew that Frieda felt sympathy towards the “super humans.” She would sometimes go to the different infirmaries, just to check if anyone was seriously injured. She wasn't scolded for it, but people voiced their opinions.

Frieda was a rogue, she always had been. But now, everyone knew and saw her for what she was. The last thing they needed was for Ellenor to be put into the same category.

Frieda walked into the general’s tent. The woman sat back in her chair, with a huge smile spreading onto her face when she saw the medic. Ellenor pat at her lap, signaling for Frieda to join her in the same chair.

A deep blush was across the general’s face, but she didn’t seem nervous at all. Frieda gracefully straddled the woman, resting her head on her shoulder. 

“Have you gotten any messages from Jenn today?” Frieda asked into her neck.

“Not today,” Ellenor answered. “Are you worried?”

“No,” Frieda tried to relax against Ellenor, but couldn’t feel comfortable with herself like this.

“I want to go home,” She spoke softly.

“We all do,” Ellenor replied. The general chuckled slightly. “You know what me and Danny used to do when we got homesick?”

Frieda sat up, adjusting her glasses back onto her nose. “What?”

“Drink!” Ellenor reached into a desk drawer, pulling out a long blue bottle. “What do you say? Just tonight.” 

Frieda laughed. “I could never say no to a face like that.”

The two drank straight out of the bottle with each other. They didn’t fear sharing germs after the things they did.

Frieda watched as Ellenor’s face blossomed red, even more so than usual. Her blinking was slow already.

“You’re a lightweight,” Frieda informed her, taking a huge swig. 

Ellenor smiled. “I know. But, hey, if we keep this up, maybe I won’t be.” The two laughed together.

“Ellenor,” Frieda grabbed her chin. A serious expression turned onto her. “I want to be with you, even after the war. I want us to stay like this.” Frieda started sniffling. “I want to grow old together.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Ellenor moved to hug the medic. It was comforting to the sweet woman. “It’s okay. I do, too.” The general pulled back to look Frieda in the eyes. “I didn’t know you were a sad drunk.” 

Frieda laughed, shoving Ellenor away. “I’m not even drunk yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nice


	36. Married

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenn has a moment.

Jennifer sat at the small table in the small kitchen. She sipped at her black coffee as if she couldn’t feel its over the top heat, or taste the awful bitterness found in it. She read the news on her phone, hoping to find a story that would lead her to another “super human” that needed to be saved.

Recently, she had mostly been helping children that she found on the streets. Most of them, however, she found completely by chance. Even more so, she could barely help them, for half of them didn’t have any identification for themselves. She didn’t know if they were missing or purposefully put out onto the street by their “guardians.” Luckily, most of them were old enough to tell that much about themselves.

As happy as Jenn was about helping these kids, she couldn’t help but think of all the adults that she couldn’t bring home. She figured most of them were either already drafted or were hiding and waiting for someone to bust down their door.

Jenn put down her phone and held her mug in both hands. She stared off into space as she thought.

She relied heavily on Frieda and Ellenor to not only send people home to her, but also to keep her up to date with anything that may be going on in the war. With Danny dead, and Ellenor promoted, it seemed like everything was falling out of place. Communication between the farm, Jenn, and the Provencal army was only becoming more sparse.

Jenn was getting nervous. It felt like every new person, every addition to the family on the small commune was a new risk, a new chance of getting caught, and another person to be hurt when the wrath comes down.

Jenn was ashamed to admit how much she truly cared for each and every soul working on that farm. While there was no one person that she was especially close to, besides Eryk, who she had to work with of credentials, she still felt a different connection to all of them. 

She knew that if, or when, they were caught hiding these people away, no one would be pitied. So many “super humans” involved with the draft had deserted. If they found out that a huge group of them were all hiding in the same place… She couldn’t imagine the horror that would be unleashed. She tried to not imagine the different yells of the people she felt so connected to as they were ripped away from there makeshift home.

“Jenn? Jenn.” A hand waved in front of her face. She blinked and shook her head. “You’re spacing out again, dear.” And then there was Adam. “Are you alright?” Jenn looked up at the man leaning over the table. He rest his hand on her shoulder. There was no guarantee of him not getting involved when everything went sour. Jenn knew that, so she didn’t speak a word of it to him. “Jenn?”

“Sorry, just thinking.” She looked down to her mug. The coffee was gone. 

Adam thought that her frequent times away were due to her sessions to recover on her leg. Around him and the general public, Jenn would use her cane. But in reality, she could walk just fine, and her sessions were a great excuse to go near Vaudherland. Maybe one day, when all of this was over, she’d be able to come completely clean.

Jen looked up into his deep brown eyes. She grabbed his hand, feeling his cold gold ring against her finger. She tightly squeezed his hand. She hoped more than anything that it would be her to tell him about the commune rather than him find out for himself, or worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've totally been slacking! I'll drop a bomb soon to make up for it.


	37. Genetics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellenor goes to a meeting.

“There has been a direct correlation to all the current raids that have happened across the encampments.” Ellenor sat in a meeting with all the other generals. “We have a strong lead that the Selenian army has a super human who has some kind of pyrokinesis.” Ellenor sat with her tight posture at the round table. 

The general speaking, he was the top of the food chain. Ellenor had seen him in posters, but she never expected to ever be in the same room as him, let alone, sitting at the same table.

As much as her pre-taught beliefs told her to look up to this man, she knew he was the baddest of the bad. As much as the president was against “super humans,” this general hated them tenfold.

“This,” The general nodded to a man. The man brought a large jar up to rest on the table. “Is a sample of the fire from on of the encampments.” 

Ellenor squinted at the jar. The fire whipped around as though a breeze was inside.

“We've been trying to figure out how this fire is different than any regular we've encountered. If anyone has any ideas on how to combat this… super, We need to know immediately.”

“Sir,” Ellenor spoke up. She saw eyes on her. She knew she had been a general for a very short time, in comparison to everyone else, but she also knew how much people looked up to her for saving over thirty people at Danny's encampment. Whether she would be ridiculed for speaking, she didn't know. “That jar, there's no way for air to get in.” The general only continued to from. “There's not way that fire should be burning. That fire should need air to survive. It behaves nothing like real fire.” Ellenor took a breath.

“The night I went to Commander General Daniel’s camp, it was snowing, but the fire didn't seemed phased at all. 

“Also, there were cars on fire, which I was later informed. Yet, they were mostly intact. Shouldn't there have been an explosion with oil and gasoline?” Ellenor clasped her hands together. She tried to not think about that night and how many people died because she wasn't strong enough. But she couldn't help remember every time she hear her medals on her chest clink together.

“What does that tell us besides that it doesn't act like normal fire?” Another general spoke. 

“The canvas of the tents would be wet.” A woman general gave her input.

“Exactly.” Ellenor confirmed.

“So, you're telling me,” the big baddie general spoke. “That it can't be combated with water, or confinement?”

“But perhaps with gasoline. Flammable things”

“Flammable liquids at least.”

Ellenor sat back in her chair with her arms crossed. Her simple observations started a lively conversation between all the other generals. They weren’t even her observations. It was completely Frieda’s comments during their late night talks that would ultimately save more encampments. They only had to wait for the right moment to bring this up.

However, it wasn’t the simple observations the women were worried about. It was their plan. They were going to call Jenn, and get her to run tests on Isamu’s boyfriend that now lived on the commune. 

Isamu had dropped to Frieda, who he trusted with all his heart, that the young man was a pyrokinetic. They had no ill-intent for the young “super human.” Yet, running tests on a living thing was just the thing they didn’t want to do. Plus, if they knew too much about the nature of a pyrokinetic, they’d become suspicious. Tests needed to be run in the government knowledge before Frieda and Ellenor could help.


	38. The Drill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know the drill.

Kieren stood out in the field, holding a large basket with different plants laid within it. He looked out towards the only road even near the farm. He stared at the massive truck approaching as it kicked up massive amounts of dust and dirt. Kieren dropped his basket and bolted straight for the house. He slammed open the door. It hit the wall.

“Jenn!” He shouted. 

“I know!” He heard the woman shout back. He looked to see her running down the stairs holding one of the young girls. SHe made a sharp turn to the basement. Many kids ran and followed her down.

“How is this possible?” He begged her. He grabbed a few of the children and helped them down the stairs faster. 

“I don’t know!” Jenn sounded like her voice was broken from yelling. Kieren set down the children at the bottom of the stairs. “I haven’t heard from anyone in weeks!” Kieren looked around the basement. Everyone was already in the even further down cellar made for this kind of situation. 

Eryk stood at the top of the ladder. He gave a hand towards Kieren to help him climb down. 

“Lolias.” Kieren said under his breath. He could see Eryk’s eyes widen at the thought of the giant. “He’d blow everything.” Kieren took off back up the stairs.

“Kieren, don’t!” 

He busted out the door that lead into the small dining area. He made a beeline for the barn. He ignored the ridiculously loud sound of the truck only getting closer. He leapt through the barn door, shutting it as hard as he could.

“Kieren?” He saw Lolias looking out the window. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know… everyone… everyone is hiding.” Lolias paused. He then looked down at himself.

“Oh,” He said as though he understood why no one came for him. “You’re a real idiot, you know that?”

“What?”

“You Idiot!” Lolias shook his head. He waved his arm out to gesture to the outside. “They saw you run in here! I was already doomed, and now… now so are you. All for some stupid freak.”

“I know what I was doing.” Kieren looked out the small window attached to the door. “I couldn’t leave you alone.”

“Wait,” Lolias paused. He squinted out the window. “Kieren.”

Kieren looked up to Lolias. He basically saw the idea.

“Can you…?” Kieren felt ashamed that he didn’t think of that himself. Kieren was powerful and everyone knew it. He could do the most damage. He’d protect them.

Kieren walked towards the approaching truck. He should have looked at it in detail earlier. It’s not like he knew what either army’s vehicles looked like, but he should have. Kieren marched his way to the very beginning of the driveway, against the garage. He then stood his ground as the truck stopped only a foot in front of him. He was scared at how tall the truck was in comparison to him.

Kieren raised his hand. He felt it start to heat.

“Step out of the truck with your hands up, and no one gets hurt!” Kieren commanded. He was so grateful when his voice remained deep and intimidating.

The passenger door opened. He aimed his hand at the door. A small man came out with his hands above his head.

“Don’t worry, we just want to talk…” Kieren frowned. He saw the man’s fist tighten and loosen repeatedly.

“Stop!” Kieren shouted at him. But then, something wrapped around his arm. Kieren shouted and struggled against the force around his wrist. As soon as he looked to see a plant wrapped around his wrist, another one in on his opposite wrist. Kieren shouted again.

Kieren opened his mouth in another shout, but he released heat with it. He tried to reach the man that was surely holding him with some kind of power.

“Sachi!” He heard the same man shout. He felt something in his head. He thought he was being read. He yelled again, trying to fight against it.

“Is there anyone else around, Hwan?” A new voice asked.

“Not that I’ve seen.”

“Tadaaki, keep your focus on him, he’s planning to hurt you.” The new voice warned.

“I wouldn’t be if you weren’t attackcing me!” Kieren shouted at them.

“Oh, thank the lord that they speak English.”

“Of course they speak English,” One snapped at the other. “How the hell do you think Ellenor speaks to them?”

“Wait, Ellenor!” Kieren panicked. “Hey, I know her! Please…” Kieren only recognized the name, he didn’t actually know her, but he’d do anything to get out of this.

“Sachi?” The one asked.

“He’s lying.” Kieren dropped his posture.

“No, please!”

“We need to scan for more than him. Sachi, take Isamu with you to search the house.”

“Isamu?” Kieren asked. Kieren shook his head to get his hair out of his face. He stared as the driver door opened, revealing an undercut accompanied by a gorgeous brown eye. Kieren burned the plants at his arms and surged forward. “Isamu!” Kieren broke into a sprint towards the driver. 

He looked up, moving his hair out of his other eye. But… there wasn’t one. Kieren slowed. On the same side as a missing eye, the man had a missing arm to match it. Not only that, but his face and neck were littered with scars and blemishes. With scars running down his jaw through his neck, scratches littered around his temple and back into his hairline, and a puffy scratch running across his cheek and stopping halfway across his nose, Kieren barely recognized the man. 

“Isamu?” He paused before taking a slow step. They met eyes… _eye?_

“Kieren?” Kieren’s throat tightened, not only from hearing his name from him, but to hear the difference in pitch of his voice.

Kieren moved forward with much more hesitation. He reached out and ran his fingers on the puffy scars. Isamu put his fingers on top of Kieren’s head.

“I missed your hair.” Isamu ran his hand down the strands. Then Kieren choked. He surged forward, grabbing onto Isamu with all he could.


	39. Coincidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coincidence? Pure Luck?

Ellenor gasped and shot up. Frieda jumped up as well, both of them tumbling out of the shared cot because of each other’s jolts.

“What’s wrong?” Frieda whispered to Ellenor. Despite them both being alone and everyone else being asleep, she still was quiet out of fear.

“The camp, we’re going to be raided.” Ellenor started breathing heavily, seeing her tent in flames. “It’s the pyrokinetic. He’s coming here.” Ellenor grabbed Frieda. “We have to get out. We have to get everyone out.”

Frieda looked at Ellenor with a look of shock that dissipated into one of sorrow.

Ellenor ignored it. “Run to every tent,” She commanded the medic. “Wake everyone up and then get them to help you get everyone out.” Ellenor ran for her radio. She signaled that they needed backup immediately.

She sprinted out of her tent and into everyone around. She shouted and got everyone else sleeping running to wake everyone else up. 

At the second tent, Ellenor looked up to the sky to see rain start falling down.

With everyone else out in a huge circle around the camp, Ellenor sighed in relief at no casualties. 

Then, she could feel another danger. On the edge of the camp, the pyrokinetic would approach, see the vacant camp, and attack the privates surrounding. 

Ellenor took of in s sprint, ignoring the rain. She heard her poor medic call to her. She had to ignore her. This time, she had to save everyone.

She saw everyone in the a private of the provencal army uniform, but then, approaching in the darkness, almost invisible, was someone in short-shorts and a tight tanktop. She saw nothing but their teeth turn into a tight scowl in the darkness. The dark figure pulled out a knife and ran towards the camp. 

Ellenor yelled as she dove forward, grabbing the armed wrist and tackling the figure. Soon, privates gathered around to watch her attacking the girl. She twisted the pyrokinetic’s wrist until a loud shriek was released and as was the knife. Ellenor overpowered the person with sheer body weight, forcing them against the ground, digging their face in the grass.

“You bitch!” The pyrokinetic shouted. Ellenor was taken aback by the high pitch of the voice. Not only were they a woman, but they seemed to be very young. Then, they unhinged their jaw and flared fire into the wet grass. Ellenor smacked a hand down over the girl’s mouth. She let out a shout as she was burnt.

Then, Ellenor hit the girl as hard as she could in the back of the head. Her body went limp.

As soon as she did, two pairs of headlights approached, lighting up the darkness.

Ellenor looked up to command a private to pick the “super human” up, but she stopped when she met eyes with Frieda. Saddness and fear were riddled in her eyes. Ellenor felt utterly crushed at the sight. Ellenor was proud and so happy that she had saved every person. She wished she could ask what was wrong, but she had to turn away and continue with her orders.


	40. Good Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lolias wants to meet Isamu.

Lolias stood with his arms crossed. He looked on as Kieren held onto a man as he introduced him to the other people already living at the farm. Lolias squinted, trying to get a good look at the man.

_There’s no way he’s good enough for Kieren._

The thought came, and Lolias stopped. He looked inward at himself with a frown. That wasn’t for Lolias to determine whether someone was good enough for Kieren. He was thinking as if he was Kieren’s mother, approving or disapproving of whoever he brought home.

Lolias then smiled at the thought. He grinned in excitement to tease at Kieren for his boyfriend not being strong enough, or not being kind enough. Lolias kept chuckling to himself, thinking of how he could say that the man needed more meat on his bones, even though he was plenty muscular.

But, Lolias wasn’t introduced to Isamu that day. He wasn’t introduced to anyone that came in the Selenian army truck. And when he went to sleep, Lolias wasn’t joined by Kieren.

The next day, early in the morning, Lolias woke to the sounds of people talking in the field. He figured the others were already getting to work. He sat and waited for Kieren to join him with breakfast.

When the smaller man approached carrying a couple of plates, Lolias completely disregraded the food and jumped right into what had been bothering his for the past seventeen hours.

“Why didn’t you introduce me to your boyfriend?” Lolias’s voice was urgent and hurt.

“You don’t really like anyone and you’re not really nice to anyone, so I figured you’d treat him the same.” Kieren’s voice was nonchalant, as if he was giving the obvious answer.

“Well, of course I would, but I still want to meet him. Hell, I’d even like to get to know him.”

“He’s not like everyone else that you just brush off or like me that you never cease being rude to.” Kieren looked up with dreamy eyes. “He’s wonderful. He doesn’t deserve that kind of treatment.”

“But Kieren!” Lolias sounded too upset. Kieren looked up with confusion in his eyes. “I don’t know… I just…” Lolias bit his lip. “I figured, you know, we’d still be friends after all this is said and done, and I don’t know…” Kieren frowned. “I just wanted to meet the person you’ll spend the rest of your life with.” 

Kieren’s face softened. “I’m sorry.” Kieren put down the plate and turned away. “I don’t want you two to meet.”

“Why?”

“I know you’ll hate each other.” Kieren threw his arms out. “I love Isamu, and,” Kieren smiled up to Lolias. “I love you too.” Lolias dropped his jaw. “I don’t want the two people I love to hate each other.”

Kieren left Lolias alone in the barn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I think, if I loved Isamu, and he didn’t love me back, or we never talked about it, I wouldn’t be afraid to admit it, say it, and yell it. As long as I believed it, that would be enough.”


	41. Coincidence pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellenor is spoken to

Ellenor sat in a cold metal chair. Her hands rested along with her head on the cold metal table. She tried to fall asleep, but the cuffs digging into her wrists made it hard to. The chain would cling on the divot in the table that kept her hands bound to it.

She jolted up when she heard the door open.

The Marshal walked in. Along with the big baddie general who was then accompanied by another woman general.

"General Ellenor." 

She smiled up at the man. "Good evening, sir. It's a pleasure to see you again." He frowned down at the hand cuffs. 

"That won't be necessary. Jones, get someone to undo these." He looked back to the woman general. She gave a sharp nod and hurried out and back with a guard.

Ellenor quietly thanked the man before bringing her wrists in to run them.

"Now," The Marshal clapped his hands together. "You're probably wondering why you're here."

"Miss Perime figured it out. She told me."

"Excellent, so it wasn't in your knowledge that you are a super human."

"No, sir." 

He gave a nod. He looked up to the man general with a smug look as if he had won some kind of bet.

"These things I see... The future... They're random. I don't understand them. It's just like a gut feeling, I don't know how I--"

"Hush, hush," The Marshal shakes his head. "Ellenor, you have saved so many Provencal Lives with your gift. You are not a threat to us. We know your intentions." The man gave a caring smile to her. "You are one of us. You took down one of the biggest threats. That damn Pyrokinetic would have kept kill us until there was nothing left." 

The man put a hand on Ellenor's. She cocked her head. Then, he said under his breath, "You're not one of them, Ellenor." 

Ellenor gave a quick nod to hide her hard swallow.

"And of course, no one can know of this." He stood. "You will be promoted for what you did this morning, however, you cannot return to your quadrant. Anyone who knows about this morning cannot know of you."

"Wait!" Ellenor said a little too loud. Everyone looked at her. She bit her lip, terrified to ask. "What of Miss Perime?" She had to guarantee her safety.

"Ah, yes, the rogue medic." He glanced back to the general before looking back to Ellenor. "We've known of your relationship for much time." Ellenor felt the blood drain from her face. "She will stay with you as you change squadrons." Ellenor gasped and covered her mouth quickly. She bowed her head. Her fallen hair covered her face as she wept. The relief from the building fear was overwhelming.

Ellenor was escorted to another holding room. As the officer stepped back away from the open door, Ellenor looked in to see a golden orange head rise. Ellenor let out a breath.

The two rushed forward to each other. Ellenor picked up the small woman while crying into her messy hair.

She then pulled back and smashed her lips into Frieda's. She didn't care if anyone saw them together. It didn't matter anymore. They didn't survive a raid, their connection survived the war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ellenor's power? Precognition! ***Spoilers in description. The ability to see things before they happen. She can't control it, so? What triggers it?


	42. Humility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lolias has an existential crisis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "He’s not like everyone else that you just brush off or like me that you never cease being rude to."

Lolias woke up to the sound of gentle chitchat. He sat and listened for a moment, but couldn't make out any words. 

He stayed resting for a moment. He kept frowning, listening to the voices versus his own and Kieren's in his head. He felt a stab into his heart when he remembered Kieren calling him rude, and assuming he'd never change. He huffed.

But then he pushed himself up to open the large barn door. He walked out into the grass with a stretch. He turned to see a few people gathered in the field. He saw a small woman struggling to carry a heaping basket of plants. He frowned at it, since they were entering the autumn months, but he still hurried to her.

She and the few people with her turned around to see him. He could never sneak up on people with his massive size.

"Hello," He said with a smile, maintaining eye contact with the woman. "Need some help with that?" He then laid out his hand out to her. She gave a grateful smile and placed the basket into his palm.

"Thank you so much," She grinned at the others with her. "I don't know why these guys didn't help me."

"They probably know you're the strongest of the group." Lolias jeered at the others with her. While some of them looked offended, others were confused.

"Can you believe they roped me into getting up this early?"

"No!" Lolias played along with the girl.

"Yes! They ignore my need for beauty sleep."

"Well, dear, I barely believe you need it." Lolias couldn't help but encourage her. 

She laughed with a blush at that. "You flatter me." She waved a dismissive hand.

"Tell you what." He crouched to get on the same eye level, still being much above it. "You head back to the house and get in whatever sleep you can. I'll help these guys." He gave a nod at the others.

"No, you don't have to--"

"I insist." He placed a finger on her head to assure her. "What's your name, darling?" He smiled at her.

"July," She said with a nod.

"Well, July, get enough beauty sleep for the both of us, since neither of us need it." He winked. She laughed before leaving, waving to the others.

"Alright, what are we doing out here?" Lolias asked the baffled "super humans" staring at him.

"Oh, um, Lolias," The man with a strange British or maybe Australian accent spoke. "This is Tadaaki, he can control plants." One introduced the other.

"Ah, you're the one that had Kieren all tied up." Lolias laughed at the frown he received. "Sorry. Lolias. Nice to meet you."

"Since he can make plants grow so rapidly, we'll have more exports if we work throughout the entire day. If you'll help us with planting, harvesting, and carrying these plants, we could go even quicker."

"Wow, that's really neat, Tadaaki," Lolias complimented the man. 

He waved a dismissive hand. "I can't really do anything without some energy from the sun." He smiled towards the sun barely visible on the horizon. "You haven't seen anything yet."


	43. Waiting and Thinking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete helps Kieren

Kieren started to walk out with a few plates, but he stopped in his tracks when he glanced out of the kitchen window. 

He saw Lolias, Eryk, and Tadaaki all in the field together. Kieren squinted to see better, but as soon as he did, Eryk stopped speaking and burst into laughter. Kieren’s eyes widened as not only Tadaaki joined in, but as did Lolias. He continued to stare as the three shared what seemed like casual and friendly banter.

“Hey,” Someone said near his ear. Kieren whipped around fast to face the person. He took a breath when it was just Pete. “Don’t blush so hard, it’s me.” Kieren covered his face, blushing only harder from being caught. Pete then moved forward to look out the window.

“Lolias?” Pete asked with a snideness to his voice. “Working with others?” Pete chuckled out loud and then looked to see if Kieren would join in.

The two made eye contact, Pete leaning forward over the sink to see out the window, and Kieren hunched over himself in embarrassment. Pete cocked an eyebrow at Kieren. Kieren brought his own eyebrows together, praying Pete wouldn’t tease him.

“I…” Kieren’s voice broke. “I need some air.” Kieren hurried towards the kitchen door.

“Wait, what about this breakfast?” Pete called after him.

“Take it to Lolias!” Kieren shouted as the door shut. He couldn’t find it in himself to care if Pete heard him or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes!


	44. Conservation and Communication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Benefits of being promoted.

With Ellenor moving up in the ranks, Frieda and Ellenor found themselves growing only more scared.

 

If Ellenor was a private who just happened to help out a few “super humans” along the way, she’d be marked as just a dumb optimistic kid. However, with Ellenor so high up on the food chain, she would be remembered. Ellenor could either survive the war and become the woman to save the most military personnel ever, or she could go down as the world’s greatest military criminal by helping the other side of the war by freeing every Provencal army “super human” that she could.

 

Ellenor’s promotion brought a lot of stressful times to the two women. Since Frieda was known as Ellenor’s significant other, it was expected of her to accompany Ellenor to events. Ever since that night, Ellenor has been invited to so many awards ceremonies, not only for her own recognition, but for anyone higher or lower than her. 

 

People would approach the two women and give thanks or praise to either of them. (Most of them were towards Ellenor.) It really put into perspective how many people Ellenor actually saved those two nights from the pyrokinetic’s raid.

 

However, as much as Ellenor and Frieda had to travel to these stupid awful parties and ceremonies, they also found themselves with much more freedom.

 

With the nights off that Ellenor was rewarded, she was expected to stay with Frieda to be a couple. While, yes, the two women spent those nights together, they spent them calling Jenn. 

 

Jenn had been left out of the loop at this time, but now, she was getting calls every other day.

 

To Ellenor and Frieda’s surprise, more than thirty people now lived in the small commune in France. 

 

Jenn told the women of the children, the different powers, and of course the romance.

 

There was a prince with multiple spouses. Plus, a japanese man who claimed to be in love with the sun. Not to mention the relationship between a little girl who could hear things that others couldn’t, and a robot girl who couldn’t speak 

 

Ellenor and Frieda initially expected to be having stressful conversations with the woman about money problems, or clashing between people, or powers that ruined the crops. But no, the farm was flourishing without any outside forces.

 

Frieda and Ellenor decided that they would up their game in helping the “super humans” desert the army, since the commune could obviously handle it. 

...Right after they had a night to themselves, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're boning.


	45. Helping Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenn hooks Lolias up.

"Jennifer!" Lolias shouted when he saw the woman exit her stout van. She looked up in surprise at him. "I was hoping we could talk." He kept his voice raised since he was still a distance away, even though his voice was naturally loud and well heard.

"Oh, really?" Jenn smiled at him. "Well, I have a couple groceries to take car of, then we could meet in the barn."

"Wait," he said before crouching at the van door. He held his hand out. "Let me help you." 

While only one bag could fit in the palm of his hand, the other bags hung comfortably around his fingers. 

Jenn walked to the kitchen door, which took her about six paces, but Lolias could move his arm and reach the door from his haunches next to the van. 

Many different hands came to take the groceries. Once done, Lolias stood, brushed himself off and headed for the barn.

Sunshine hopped down from the loft. Lolias picked her up.

"Where have you been, girl?" She only purred a response, but the cat had remnants of Kieren in her smell. He set her down and tried to ignore the hurt inside his chest.

"Alright, what do you need to say?" Lolias turned to see Jenn walk through the big open barn door. Only a few people did that. He was glad Jenn was one of them.

"Jennifer," Lolias's mindset that he had trained himself to have bit back, telling him to be disrespectful, but he pushed through. "I'm sorry." And once that was out, everything fell out too. "I've been such a douche to everyone. Especially you. I've made a lot of assumptions about everyone and I know now... I don't know anything about anyone." Lolias lifted his head fast, his eyes glossy and pleading. His hair bounced slightly on top of his head and around his ears. "But I want to!" She smiled at him. Her look bled understanding. 

I've been working with Eryk and Tadaaki these early mornings," Lolias gave Eryk's name the roll on the 'r' that most people ignored. "And they're really great and funny, you know? Except Eryk doesn't join in at my jabs at people unless they're there. I don't know..." Lolias pushed his hair out of his face. "I guess what I'm trying to say, I've been helping them do their work, and if you need me to do something else, I can do it." Lolias clapped his hands together with determination.

Jenn smiled and shook her head. "I know what you're trying to say." She looked so happy it was ridiculous. Lolias would have jabbed at her, that an old lady like her shouldn't be so fond of her wrinkles, but he stayed quiet. "I have a ton of jobs for you, just not today." She shook her head with a shrug. "I have a couple thing to do today with Eryk, so, if you'll excuse me."

"Of course," Lolias encouraged her.

Before Jenn completely walked out the door, she turned around and said, "Oh, and thank you." She gave him a simple nod. He nodded back.


	46. Terror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren has a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a scary chapter. Terror as in night terrors.

Kieren woke with a start, like he often did. His skin was wet with sweat and he was beyond uncomfortable. He looked down at his hands to see steam coming off of his palms, making his own sweat dissipate off. He brought his hands to his face to hide.

“Kieren?” Kieren jumped, not prepared for someone else to be there. He fell off the bed and landed on the floor with a thump. One of his legs stayed on the bed. Isamu places a hand on his ankle, looking down over the bed. “Hey,” Isamu gently rubbed his leg to comfort him. “Are you alright?”

“Isamu,” Kieren whispered under his breath. The poor man’s face showed so much concern and emotion. Kieren’s heart was being crushed. Isamu had been so hurt, his eyes were always filled with sadness now, the glimmer of happiness struggling to keep shining in his eyes. Kieren struggled to stand up, wincing when his leg bent a strange way.

“Talk to me, let me help you.” Isamu rose out of the bed and brought his hands to Kieren's shoulders. Kieren had forgotten how tall the man was compared to him. One of Isamu’s hands rubbed his shoulder and the other ventured up his neck and caressed his chin. Kieren nuzzled his cheek into his palm.

“I need some time to think,” Kieren said. He leaned forward, grabbing Isamu to bring him closer. He hid his face in Isamu’s chest. He held him there for sometime before he finally spoke quietly to Isamu.

“It was you again,” Kieren's fingers curled. “The dream, I mean. But…” Isamu's chest rose and fell. Kieren sighed with it. “But Lolias was there too.” 

Isamu grabbed Kieren's chin in his fingertips. He tilted his head to look into his eyes. Isamu closed his eyes, the pain apparent on his face, before he rushed forward to kiss Kieren. The two held each other there for a drawn out moment.

Kieren dressed himself as Isamu laid back down in the bed. Kieren glanced back at the resting man, nervously biting his lip, before he left their shared room.

Kieren walked as though he was on a mission down the stairs, across the kitchen, out the door, and through the grass. He reached for the handle to the barn. Then stopped.

He grabbed his hair in frustration and let out a quiet aggravated yell. He flopped over in the grass. 

He looked up to the stars. He smiled at them, ignoring any mellowing bitterness. He saw the moon, lower than usual in the sky. It made it seem a whole lot bigger. He raised his hand to cover the moon, to focus on the stars. But he realized, he could touch the moon and the stars at the same time. 

Kieren closed his eyes as he let his arms flop uselessly above his hand in the grass. 

_The moon. Who would have thought something so big meant so little to the universe? Well, it may be that way for the universe. But not for the Earth._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The moon is so big compared to everything else in the night sky, yet, it's one of the most attainable to us.


	47. Dampen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellenor and Frieda attend a banquet.

Ellenor stood tall in her long evening gown with Frieda at her side in her own much shorter dress. They waited in a line to enter a banquet, occasionally taking tiny steps to get closer to the door. It was obvious both we getting antsy in their fancy shoes they weren’t used to wearing. But everyone else kept a level head and mingled casually. Neither of them had to say it, but they both knew they’d rather be alone.

An hour into waiting, they reached the door. They found what was taking so long. The group in front of them were being pinned by the guards at the door. The pins were large rectangular boxes tinted in gold. Once pinned onto a person, a button was hit, and a number flashed on the pin. Every number unique.

Ellenor held herself together, rigid against her own body. “I have a bad feeling about this,” She said as quietly as she could, praying that Frieda heard her. 

“Sergeant General Ellenor!” One of the guards shouts, snapping into attention. “You’re here!”

“At ease,” She waved her hand.

“Gosh, I wish I could remember that night you saved all of us.” The guard spoke as he started to put the pin against her chest. “It’s an honor to be recognized as one of your survivors.” 

Ellenor laughed. “You deserve plenty of your own praise, private.” The young man blushed. “If I may ask,” Ellenor stared over the young man’s shoulder to see someone else pinning Frieda’s chest. “What are these for, private?”

 

“You wouldn't believe how many times I’ve been asked that!” She forced a laugh. “It’s a dampener for the supers. Stops them from being able to use their powers.” Ellenor swallowed hard. This is not a good idea.

“That’s an excellent idea,” Ellenor approved the idea. “But why tonight?” Ellenor frowned.

“Oh,” Ellenor perked up, she heard the pin beep, displaying her own unique number. “Well, the Marshal, the Admiral, and the President are all here. I think it’s foolish for them to be here though.” The private stood back. “This may be our country, but the enemy can hide among us.”

“Enemy?”

“The supers of course.” The private shook his head. “You’re such an optimist, Seregant.”

Frieda came and grabbed Ellenors arm. “Have a wonderful evening!”

“You too!” Frieda called to him.

Frieda and Ellenor didn’t speak as they entered. They were escorted to their table, only one table away from the huge board table. The Marshal and Admiral, along with many veterans and generals, already sat at the table. 

Ellenor frowned looking up and down the table. In her gut, Ellenor knew something was wrong. Something terrible was going to happen. It was so powerful, it started to hurt. But she didn’t know what to do! She didn’t know what was going to happen. She bawled her fists and forced herself not to rip off the “super human” dampener.

Frieda placed her hand on top of Ellenor’s on the table. Frieda seemed to sense Ellenor's distress. Then, Ellenor squinted at Frieda's pin. The gold box displayed no number. Ellenor frowned deeply.

The ring of feedback from a microphone directed Ellenor's attention back up to the board table. There, she saw the President, bringing a microphone to his mouth. Ellenor squinted at him, the feeling in her gut pushing harder.

Then, a shock went through her hand. She jumped away, pulling her fingers back from Frieda's. She looked back in confusion at the woman before a huge vision displayed itself to Ellenor.

_There was a super there. There to assassinate the President. The word 'justice' slipped from the President's lips, and right after, a bullet lodged itself in his chest._

“The third vent, southern wall, from the east.” Ellenor said under her breath. Ellenor then stood up, she listened as the President started to make the 'J' sound. She then sprinted towards him.

“Get down!” She shouted to him. She rushed forward but then soon stopped in her tracks. 

The Earth shattering sound of a rifle going off was so deafening, Ellenor couldn't remember hearing it. But she did remember the ringing in her ears that followed. She looked up to the President who only stared back at her with widened fear-filled eyes. He was completely frozen.

Ellenor started to feel dizzy. She felt her heart beating hard and slow throughout her entire being. Then a horrific pain blossomed from her chest, encasing her body and mind. She brought her left hand up and touched gently where the pain started. She looked as she pulled her hand back to see her blood stained fingers. The black of her dress was growing a deeper darker black as if it were becoming wet. 

As she realized the situation, time seemed to slow. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as her legs gave out from under her. She thought she heard the yelling of others, but couldn't tell what was the ringing or the cries. The moment Ellenor hit the ground, she tried to smile. She saved everyone, again. Except herself.


	48. Chores

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete complains.

Isamu stood in the kitchen, watching out the door window as Jenn helped a man out of her van. As the man spoke to her, he barely moved his lips. Jenn smiled and nodded to agree to whatever he was saying.

Plates clattered next to Isamu on the counter. Isamu turned to see the Prince, Pete, loading up the plates with eggs. Isamu frowned at it.

Pete glanced up with an almost irritated look at Isamu. A grin spread on his face when their eyes met, however.

“Can you believe your boyfriend has got me doing all his work?” Pete teased.

“What?” Isamu asked, his frown growing.

Pete brought his eyebrows together to express confusion, but his smile continued. “You don't know?” Isamu only shook his head. “Kieren always made Lolias breakfast.”

“He stopped?”

“Yep, ever since you showed up.” Isamu’s gut dropped. “Now he's got me on giant duty.”

Jenn opened the door, still helping the man walk. He was still speaking.

“I never knew what it would be like to be caught. You know, since my family never knew,” Jenn nodded as if she knew what he was talking about. “Still, I'm glad it was you to find me first. With my sister's connection to the First Man, I don't think they'd be able to keep it a secret.”

“Nowadays, who doesn't have a connection to the First Man.” Jenn joked. The man laughed.

While the newcomer and Jenn spoke, Isamu fled from the kitchen, happy to get away from Pete's constantly snide behavior.

Isamu knew for the most part about Kieren’s connection to Lolias, but he didn't think about how Kieren may have cared for the giant.

Isamu remembered a few days ago when Kieren left their room after one of his night terrors. Isamu stopped in the hall, clenching his fists and jaw. When Isamu arrived, Kieren was happy, more outgoing than Isamu could have ever hoped. But as the mere days progressed, he only saw Kieren grow more distant and quiet.

Not only that, but Kieren's night terrors had returned. Every night, Kieren would be a sweating mess, in a complete panic, yet he wouldn't speak to Isamu about them. And that night he left Isamu alone in their room, they hadn't spoken since.

Isamu closed his eyes, a flood of sadness, doubt, and worry rushing over him. He couldn't stand this. Something was wrong with Kieren and he was struggling without any help.

Isamu opened his eyes to look through the closest room and out the window. He saw the barn not too far in the distance. 

Isamu knew only one person close enough to Kieren to help him.


	49. The Waiting Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The waiting room is filled with crying.

Frieda couldn't stop the tears. They burned at her face as her cheeks grew tight with their expression stuck as crestfallen.

Frieda had turned around as soon as she heard the gunshot and pointed to the vent that Ellenor warned her of. Just as she turned back around to yell for someone, she saw the President’s horrified face, and then, Ellenor… a fresh hole, tearing through her elegant dress… and her beautiful pure skin becoming tainted with the most appalling shade of red.

Remembering the scene for what felt like the millionth time, Frieda broke into more sobs.

She'd seen lots of people with all different injuries, but she'd never seen the act of them being hurt. Frieda covered her eyes, trying to not see the act over and over again.

Ellenor was shot, in the chest. Frieda cried out, she tried so, so hard to push it down, but it was impossible. Frieda had been there. She saw the image of herself, pushing with all of her might on Ellenor's wound, to stop the bleeding. She saw her hands covered in the terrifying shade of red. Blood.

Frieda only continued crying in her seat of the waiting room. So many people were there, she couldn't hold back. They were all here for Ellenor too. She wasn't surprised. The most decorated general in all of the Provencal army was bound to have a lot of guests.

It was approaching one in the morning when Frieda was so dehydrated that she stifled her sobs into sniffles. She occasionally had to bite her tongue to keep from yelling out her pain.

In her medical mind, she knew that Ellenor was shot in the right side of her chest, missing her heart. However, in her true mind, she was in complete panic, imagining the worst for the only person she trusted. She couldn't help it. 

When two a.m. approached. Frieda's eyes were too sticky to close without pain, and her throat too raw to swallow. Most people had left or were asleep in their chairs, but Frieda's anxiety kept her wide awake.

There was a pat on her shoulder. Frieda looked up in a daze to the man standing in front of her. She felt like she was jostled out of the world of panic and back into reality. The change made her dizzy. Her throat tightened when she remembered where she was and threatened to cry out again.

“How are you doing?” The man asked her. Sympathy truly riddled in his voice. Frieda tried to smile, but her face wouldn't let her. “May I sit?” The man gestured to the chair. Then, when he sat eye level to Frieda, it clicked who he was. The Marshal. 

“She's going to be alright,” The Marshal assured with a kind smile and an understanding nod. Frieda felt more tears streak her cheeks. “But you probably know that better than me, Medic.” The Marshal tried to smile with a laugh, but Frieda couldn't do it. “Your… what are you? Girlfriends?”

Frieda opened her mouth to answer but a bitter strangle escaped her and she had to grit her teeth to stop. She covered one of her eyes as her throat convulsed.

“That's alright, just relax.” The Marshal placed his hand on her back and gently rubbed. It was comforting to have contact with others, especially since the last person she felt was Ellenor when she was bleeding. Frieda tried to stay calm. “Listen, Miss Perime,” the Marshal tried. “What your… girlfriend… did at the banquet. She's… she's going to be put down in history for that.” Frieda's throat let out a strangled sob. “This may be the most important event of the war.” The gunshot sound kept playing in her mind, her bloodied hands kept flashing in her eyes. 

“But no one can know the Sergeant General survived. There is a huge risk with her being as she is. Suspicions will rise. If anyone asks,” Frieda looked into the man's eyes. His eyes were full of sadness and sympathy. “Ellenor died.” Frieda sobbed at those words.

The Marshal collected Frieda into a hug. She sobbed into his firm shoulder pads. 

When a man in white scrubs came out to speak with the Marshal, he told the man where the woman had been placed to rest. The few remaining people, the husband of the Marshal, the Admiral, the general who had taken Ellenor's previous squadron, plus the Marshal and Frieda herself, all made their way to the specified room. 

It was customary that the Marshal was the first to meet with a wounded general. But, the Marshal wrapped his arm around Frieda and they walked in together.

Once the door shut behind them, Frieda rushed forward. She collapsed on her knees next to Ellenor. She grabbed the woman's hand and held it tighter than ever. The rhythm of the pacemaker was music to Frieda's ears. It meant a heart was still beating, that a woman was still alive. 

Even though Frieda was overwhelmed with joy, she sobbed as she held Ellenor's hand to her lips. She kissed it with her trembling lips. It felt warm.


	50. Missing pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isamu tries to get help.

Isamu sat in bed, staring at the door that lead into the room from the hall. He waited for someone to maybe turn the door handle, or to knock, or to call his name through it.

None of that happened.

He wished he could call out to Kieren with his mind. He was sure there was someone with a power like that. But no, he was useless. His power couldn't save him. Couldn't help Kieren. He was useless. He covered his only eye with his only hand. 

Kieren needed someone with all of their pieces.

Isamu stood. He walked to the door, reached for the handle, but paused to see if maybe someone would turn the handle. He scoffed at himself before finally pushing the door open and leaving the room.

He walked with his mission in mind, but quietly so that no one would wake up. He shut the door to the outside gently, even though it creaked. 

The crunch of grass under his feet made him cringe, for it seemed louder than any of his other actions. He pushed on, ignoring the mildew building up on the toes of his shoes.

He looked the barn up and down considering its height in comparison to the house. He pushed the huge door open.

Against one of the walls, a massive body jumped. While he remained sitting, the giant sat up straight.

“Kieren?” He whispered into the darkness. Isamu realized he didn't have a plan and had no idea what to say.

“No,” Isamu cringed at himself. “No…” Isamu bit his lip, quickly regretting his word choice. Isamu entered and shut the door behind him. Then Isamu realized, the huge man wasn't asleep. He was sitting there, waiting. He paused.

“Can I turn on a light?” He asked.

“There aren't any,” The giant replied without much emotion.

“Oh.” Isamu felt incredibly awkward.

“But you can come over here,” The massive one's voice showed much more compassion in the statement. “The light comes through the window right here.”

Isamu saw the light glimmering against an oversized foot. He made his way there with hesitance, but with haste. Once Isamu was in the dim moonlight, he tried to look up to see the giant’s face. He squinted, but stopped immediately, not wanting to send the massive man any bad signals. 

“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.”

“I know who you are.” The bitter undertones in his voice made Isamu’s chest ache.

“Lolias,” Isamu tried to reason, but he had nothing to say. He sat down next to the other man’s foot. Isamu shook his head, looking down to the floor. What was he doing?

“If this is about Kieren, I don’t want to hear it.” Isamu looked up, trying to meet Lolias’s eyes. He saw the giant grow visibly uncomfortable when he finally managed.

“But don’t you care about him? Don’t you want to hear about him, talk about him?” Isamu’s eyes adjusted just in time to see Lolias’s lip quiver.

“Of course I care…” Lolias turned his head away from Isamu’s unfaltering gaze. “But I need to get over him. He obviously doesn’t care about me anymore.” Isamu saw the poor man clenching his fists subtly and the veins in his arm protruding from the skin. The giant’s eyes were getting easier to see in the awful lighting as they grew glossy.

“He doesn’t care about you anymore?” Isamu remembered Pete telling him about doing Kieren’s breakfast chore. “He doesn’t talk to you anymore?”

“Of course he doesn’t! Ever since you showed up.” Isamu’s body hurt with the idea of Kieren forcing himself away from his only other friend because of him. This idea now confirmed by two people.

“I’m sorry,” Isamu tried to clear the atmosphere, but he could feel the hate radiating off of Lolias.

“It doesn’t matter,” Isamu saw the giant’s nose curl in anger. “I never had a chance with you around.” Isamu watched his expression grow tighter and angier. Isamu knew Lolias was holding back from everything he really wanted to say, everything he wanted to do. He wouldn’t blame the giant if he squished Isamu right then and there, he was about to be asking for it.

“Lolias…”

A huge breath was released from the giant. “It’s not your fault.” Isamu was surprised by that. Lolias lowered his head as he folded his arms over his chest. “It’s not your fault if he thinks about you that way.” The sudden change in attitude gave Isamu whiplash. 

“He…” Lolias’s fingers dug into his biceps. “Kieren, he always said that he’d never be afraid to admit to loving someone, no matter their feelings. So… what I’m saying is, it’s not your fault.”

Isamu started to smile, but then he faltered. Why would Kieren being talking like that to Lolias?

“He loves you,” Isamu said. He saw Lolias’s eyes visibly dilate. “He confessed to you, didn’t he?” Pain found its way from Isamu’s chest to his mind, making his head throb. He hurt all over. 

“It doesn’t matter,” Lolias said. Isamu wished the way Lolias tried to hide his sadness worked better.

“Lolias, you can talk to me, I swear.” Isamu stood up to try to show his earnest to the situation. “I’m not your enemy.”

“That’s right, you aren’t.” Lolias upturned his lip. “You’re nothing to me.”


	51. Feel As You Feel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellenor wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> True happiness through chaos.

Ellenor struggled to open her eyes. She had to flutter them to even have a chance of them opening. She felt her long hair around her face, neck, and shoulders. It was suffocating not to have it in a braid, or the very least, pulled back. She felt thin sheets covering her waist down, and something tacky against he back. She wished to pull it off as soon as she felt it, but couldn’t find it in herself to move that much. She felt a warmth, a radiating warmth, around her hand and flowing into and up her arm. 

Ellenor finally got her eyes open. She looked over to see three men all resting on the small couch next to large windows. She flinched when she twisted her back and felt the sticky patch pinch at her skin. She sat back to rest against the bed. She looked down to see a messy head of hair sprawled out against the bed and her hip. Next to the head, her hand was wrapped up in another’s.

“Frieda?” She asked, her voice getting lost in the air. Her cotton-like throat made it hard to speak.

Yet, the head bounced up immediately. Her eyes shimmered, ready to cry. “Ellenor!” Frieda pounced onto the bed, wrapping her arms around Ellenor’s neck. Ellenor wrapped her arms around Frieda’s waist as tightly as she could. She fell to lay completely on top of her. She heard her cries against her shoulder.

Frieda pulled back, sitting up. She placed her hands on Ellenor’s face. Ellenor released a breath she felt she had been waiting for all her life. In the moment, Ellenor wanted Frieda more than ever. Within the look Frieda gave her, Ellenor could feel exactly as she felt, think exactly as she thought. The warmth of the woman flowed into her mind and encased her heart. 

“Frieda,” Ellenor reached up and grabbed the woman’s hand. “Marry me.’’

Frieda gasped in Ellenors lap. She then let out a small sweet laugh. She leaned down and kissed Ellenor, holding her face, planning to never let go. Ellenor could feel Frieda’s smile against her lips as she tried to kiss her. It was perfect. 

When Frieda pulled back, she nodded with her beautiful smile never falling.

“Yes?” Ellenor asked.

She only nodded more. “Yes, yes, yes!” She kissed Ellenor again and again, over and over.

 

 

That night, Ellenor and Frieda, while sitting on a hospital bed, signed papers to confirm their binding to each other. Even though the dates were changed to make it seem longer, so Ellenor’s death could still be faked, they were still binded nonetheless. 

By the end of the night, Frieda was legally a widow. But she slept in the same bed as her beautiful wife.


	52. Winter Approaches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Break someone's silence for their own good.

Isamu sat in bed alone, as he had been for a few weeks now. Half the time, he thought of how the coldness of the way Lolias looked and spoke to him haunted him. The other half, he wondered how long Kieren's hair might be getting, wondered where he could be hiding away to avoid Lolias, wondered what the young one was forcing to himself to figure out by himself, and wondered when, if, they would speak again.

Isamu stood up out of bed and approached the window. He looked out to stare at the barn. He shook his head, wondering why he ever thought Lolias would ever help him.

A loud popping noise brought him out of his thoughts. He frowned out the window seeing a small girl floating in the air for a moment, but then, the popping sounded again and the girl was gone. Movement caught Isamu's eye. He looked down to the ground and the girl was there. She was floating, but would disappear and reappear with the fainted noises of the popping. 

Isamu frowned and shook his head. In a world full of "super humans" he could still be amazed.

 

In the morning, Isamu stood by the kitchen door, looking out. He hoped to see Jenn, but her van didn't approach. 

He became antsy, deciding to speak to the second in command, that he knew of, Eryk. 

He looked around for the mohawked man, but had no luck. Plates clattered. 

"Pete, I need to know where Eryk is." Isamu called into the kitchen without even seeing and confirming it was Pete.

"Why's that?" Pete questioned back. Isamu grew irritated immediately. The man could never help without teasing first.

"It's about Kieren," Isamu said, trying to hide any worry in his voice.

"Ooh, trouble in paradise?" Pete teased. Of course he would.

"I'm just worried about him sleeping out in the cold." Isamu snapped. He wished Pete could take something seriously for once.

"He's not sleeping with you?" Pete sounded genuinely confused. "He's not sleeping in the barn either, Lolias said. Where could he possibly be?"

"I don't know." Isamu paused. "You haven't seen him?"

"No, not for a couple weeks." Pete picked up the plates. "I'll ask Lolias about it, okay?" Isamu nodded. Maybe Lolias would help more if they had a mediator. When Pete was out the door, Isamu cringed, worrying that Pete and Lolias would equally make fun of him together. Isamu crossed his arms, holding himself tightly. He frowned to the floor, his face warping with pain as he imagined the conspiring. He grabbed his head as it started to throb.

"You alright?" Asked a voice behind him. A hand clapped onto his shoulder.

"Yeah," Isamu sat up straight. He looked back, letting off the counter he gripped for balance. "I was just looking for you." He turned around to face Eryk.

"What's your banger, comrade?" Eryk asked, his Australian bleeding through.

"It's a couple of things." Isamu said, he looked down the hall, seeing a few people littered in the den area. He hoped Eryk would catch the suggestion.

"Let's talk downstairs." Eryk lead him to the door that lead into the basement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then they fucked in the basement.
> 
> JUST KIDDING SORRY


	53. Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete and Lolias talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If someone you don't care about messes with your love, do you care about them now?

Lolias didn’t hate Pete, of course. He was completely content with the former Prince being in his company every morning. However, there was no replacing Kieren.

Plus, Pete was pretty obnoxious about the whole situation. While he wasn’t in it, and it was understandable that he didn’t know what was exactly going on, he still had to push on about it, trying to make jokes. It made it all the harder to move past it all. Lolias had work to do, he shouldn’t be focusing on Kieren so much. He wished he could change his thoughts to not think of the smaller man. 

Yet, when Pete opened the door to the barn, as he had been every morning for the past eighteen days, Lolias was still hopeful Kieren was the one carrying the eggs.

Pete swaggered in, barely bouncing in his steps, as he always did, since he walked like a true Prince. Lolias gave an appritiative nod to the lanky man. He could have left Lolias alone, just brought his food, and left, but no, he took a seat on the floor to pester Lolias during.

“Isamu talked to me this morning.” Pete commented. Lolias scowled. Pete was really going to bother him today. “He--”

“I don't care about him.” Lolias tried to ignore to keep eating.

“He was asking about Kieren.” 

Lolias wasn't impressed. “What about Kieren could he possibly not know?”

“He was asking where he's been sleeping.” Lolias squinted. “Do you know? I think he's worried about him…”

“No, I haven't seen Kieren in a while.” Lolias was very confused, but tried to hide his concern from Pete.

“Neither have I. It seemed like Isamu hasn't too.” Pete looked actually worried. “I'm worried about him.” Lolias looked down to the ground. “You know, I haven't seen Bea around either.”

“Bea?” Lolias asked. 

“The lamb girl that can float?” Lolias shook his head. “This can't all be coincidence.” Lolias watched as Pete tried to figure out the mystery.

Lolias and Pete both thought in silence as Lolias finished his meal. When Pete gathered the plates and left, it only allowed Lolias to think more.

“Pete!” Lolias called after him. Lolias didn't doubt himself for a second. “Tell Isamu to come talk to me later.” Pete's eyebrows furrowed, but he nodded and went to the farmhouse.


	54. Infamy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenn ignores an article.

Jenn sat drinking her coffee, which was the only normal and true part of her life anymore. She scanned her news app. She saw the main title, being displayed bigger than any of the others. _Assassination Attempt at Howard Reward Banquet._

Jenn clicked on it and it started a video. She immediately clicked away from it. The noise made her irritated and would much rather read the transcript.

“That video came up to me to,” Adam called out from in front of the Keurig. Jenn raised her eyebrow. He recognized it after just a moment of sound. “He was saved by a soldier. It was that general again.”

“‘That general again?’” Jenn questioned him.

“The one that took down the pyrokinetic super.” He elaborated. Adam walked to sit down across from her.

“I still don’t know him.” Jenn scrolled to see anything else on her phone.

“Her,” Adam corrected. “Gosh, I though for sure you knew. She’s the one that saved those two encampments from the fire. She helped initiate the biggest research on the genetics of super humans when she captured that pyrokinetic. The most decorated person in service of the twenty-second century!”

“You sound like you really admire her,” Jenn teased. “Crushing on people in uniform is so like you. I might just have to start liking her too.” Jenn regretted acting as snarky as she does at the farm at home.

“Not a chance,” Adam said with a shrug. “She’s married.”

“So are you.”

“Married to a woman…” Adam looked down. “That, and she died in surgery.” He looked like he was genuinely grieving over a woman he didn’t know.

“She took a bullet for the President?” Jenn was appalled and surprised.

“You should listen to the full story.” Adam gave a soft look. 

Jenn pulled out her phone, tapping on the headline.

_This past weekend, during the Howard Reward Banquet, a young super human, Gabby Rushier, attempted to assassinate President Francois Solere while he was giving the introductory to the rewards. Luckily, that night, renowned general Ellenor Marie-Perime, was attending the banquet._

Jenn shut off her phone screen. Ellenor’s image flashed on the screen before they even said her name. She was dead. Jenn started to panic, she brought her arms into herself. 

_She died in surgery._

_Ellenor Marie-Perime._

_Took a bullet for the President._

“Jenn!” Hands were on her shoulders. She released a breath and looked up to her husband. “Jenn…” He collected her in his arms. She trembled. He didn’t understand. He’d never understand.

She shoved him away. “I… I have to go.” Jenn’s voice was shaking as she stood. She stumbled on her bad leg. She cried out before she had to cover her mouth to shield her terror from coming out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jenn's leg can still be a handicap sometimes.


	55. Whose Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Intentions are brought to the surface

Isamu was on his sixteenth day without sleep. He slept occasionally when he was alone in the den on the couch, but he found, he was struggling to lay and sleep for a true eight hours. Even if he wanted to sleep, the off chance that Kieren would walk in to talk to him kept him wide awake. He sat on the bed, delusions threatening to take him. He stared out the window. Stared at the barn. Stared through the walls. He knew, he knew Lolias had asked to speak to him and he knew he was wake with the same wishful thinking keeping him awake.

Isamu stood, not hesitating to go to the barn. He made no attempts to mask the noise he was making. He couldn’t if he tried. His sluggish pathetic steps made it hard to relax enough to make his gait even remotely nimble.

He threw open the massive doors with ease, seeing the moonlight against the giant foot. Tonight, the angle was different, so the light hit small strands of Lolias’s hair before falling to the floor.

Lolias was sitting with his arms crossed against the wall he was always found on. Isamu marched over to the small slice of light on the floor without hesitation before he plopped down onto the ground.

“You look like hell.” Lolias said without much emotion.

“I can’t sleep.”

“Hadn’t noticed.”

“You asked me to come here,” Isamu made a look of confused irritation. “Why do you have to be rude to me?” Lolias opened his big mouth. “Don’t answer that.”

“I talked to Pete.”

“Sucks for you.” Isamu mimicked Lolias’s snide tone. The two stopped for a minute, then laughed together.

Once the two settled, Lolias spoke again. “I talked to Pete and… we were kind of trying to piece things together by ourselves, but I know it would be easier if I got it all from you.”

“I don’t know everything myself, but I’ll try to help.”

“Kieren,” Lolias started. Isamu could hear the pain in his voice just saying his name. “He's not sleeping with you?” Isamu cringed at the wording.

“No…” Isamu bit his lip. He wondered how much he should tell the giant. “… he hasn't been talking to me.”

“That's what I figured.” Lolias said with salt riddled in his voice.

The two sat in silence. Ismau could feel Lolias’s anger casting a shadow over him in the already tense room. His arms had come uncrossed and he rested his palms on the floor. Isamu didn't have to see the giant’s face to know his brow was drawn tight and his jaw even tighter.

“Do you know why?” Ismau asked. His voice was soft and he tried to be kind, but he sounded desperate.

“Why he doesn't talk to you?” Lolias scoffed out. Isamu could hear his hands curl into fists. Isamu cringed away as the giant's massive face leaned down close to him. “How about he's trying to get over you?” Isamu's heart tightened in his chest. He reached up and twisted his shirt in his fist. “You ever think that? He doesn't love you anymore.” Isamu tried to back away from the daunting look as Lolias moved forward to completely block out the moonlight. “He's trying to get over you!” Isamu cried out in pain from his chest and from fear of the giant showing just how giant he was. “He's trying to get over you and he's taking it out on me!” Isamu sobbed as water fell from his singular tear duct. “You took away my only friend, bastard!” Lolias’s voice choked on his words. It couldn't be ignored. 

But Isamu wasn't in the right mind.

Isamu's tears slowed. “Took away your friend?” Isamu's voice filled with rage, an emotion he wasn't accustomed or acquainted to. “You don't care about him! Or me! Or anyone you, you,” Isamu struggled to come up with an insult. “You selfish liar!” Isamu subconsciously puffed out his chest to square up to the man. “You just wish someone would pity your pathetic ego!”

“You're one to talk!” Lolias shouted right back. “You think you can disappear for a year and a half and think everything will go back to normal?” 

“I came back thinking I'd be given some human decency!” Isamu defended himself with the strongest thing he had to think. “I know you hate everyone, but you could at least respect me.”

“I can't respect someone as naive as you!” Lolias stomped as if he was a child. “Kieren's life doesn't revolve around you!”

“It doesn't revolve around you either!” Isamu shouted, trying to match the giant's volume. Then, the two stopped their remarks at each other. They both heaved, the adrenaline of anger still coursing through them. Then, the two let their final words settle. 

“You're right.” They said together. Both looked shocked at each other.

Isamu continued first. “I shouldn't just expect Kieren to wait for me, or even like me after I… “ Isamu looks down at his hand, pretending his missing arm would be there. “ … changed so much.”

It's quiet. Before Lolias speaks up. “You're right too… I shouldn't assume anything about Kieren and… he can do whatever he wants with or without me.”

The two shared a look as if they were both thinking the same thing, but couldn't say it.

Lolias relaxed, sitting back up against the wall, the light shining through the window once again. Isamu sat down in the minimal light, then looked up at the window. He saw the moon, brighter than ever out in the middle of nowhere.

A wave of fatigue washed over Isamu. He looked up with droopy eyelids to see Lolias had already fallen asleep. Before he knew it, he was asleep inside the barn on the floor.


	56. Plates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete does chores.

Pete made eggs just like he had been every morning for two and a half weeks. Today, he was running a little late, having helped Eryk clean the table off of everyone else's breakfast. People were all around the downstairs. Most were children, since anyone old enough was outside to work.

The children ran in and out of the kitchen, chasing each other, looking for something to mess with, or just out of curiosity. Pete saw them everyday and every one made him wish to get back to his marrieds to have children of his own.

Pete walked with a tall posture to the barn as he carried the eggs. He felt so proud of himself as he thought of his own theoretical children. He was beyond happy to just think of Cassandra playing piano for the little ones, Jameson playing in the sand with them, and Vieno teaching them Italian, French, and English.

Pete looked out into the field, where Tadaaki grew plants as others followed behind him picking them as they grew. He imagined introducing all of his new friends to his lovers. He was so excited for the future.

Pete opened the smaller barn door and stepped inside. He started to approach Lolias. He was lost in his thoughts completely when he shut the door, letting the least amount of light in the barn. Lolias hadn't gotten up yet. 

Pete squinted in the terrible lighting trying to see the giant. His foot seemed horribly disfigured and Pete wondered if he had gotten into an accident.

But as he got closer he saw the silhouette was not Lolias's foot at all. Pete circled around to see a man laying against Lolias's over grown foot, sleeping. Once he realized it was in fact Isamu he nearly dropped the plates of eggs. 

He glanced up to Lolias and back down to Isamu. Both had ridiculous bags under their eyes. They couldn't have fallen asleep long ago.

Pete crouched down, placing the plates on the ground. He left them sleeping.

When he got back to the kitchen, Eryk was standing, doing dishes.

"Where are the plates?" He asked Pete.

He looked to see a few of the adults had come in. They were looking at Pete, waiting for his answer.

"Lolias was asleep out there." A grin spread on Pete's face as he paused to be dramatic. "And so was Isamu."


	57. Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kids tend to exaggerate.

“Where’s Bea?” Vivica spoke to Jerricho, the only person that could hear her. Vivica’s mouth didn’t move when she spoke. She was pretty sure she didn’t actually talk like anyone else did, with their so called ‘vocal chords’ but she could speak, even if it was only of Jerricho. “I haven’t heard her in so long.”

“I’m not sure,” Jerricho answered. “Ari, do you know where Bea is?”

“Nope, Jackie, do you know where Bea is?”

“No, she’s too mean to me. Ask Katie."

“Katie, have you seen Bea?”

“Vivian has,” Katie mentioned Vivica’s brother. Vivica’s mouth grew sour with the thought of him. “He said she was being all mysterious in the middle of the night stealing loads of food!”

“Yeah!” Gabe joined in. “He said she was looking around like a spy to make sure no one saw her!”

“I heard she was stealing more than food. She probably has a whole stash of gold out there!”

“Yeah, right,” Jackie said, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. “Everyone knows all the gold is hidden in the bank.”

“Well,” Havi started. “Vivian said he saw bright lights. I bet it was the reflection off the gold!”

“Well, she shouldn’t be stealing food in the first place!” Ari huffed. “There’s so many people here, she should be more considerate.”

“Who is stealing food?” All the children in the room stopped their story telling abruptly to see Eryk standing out in the hallway in front of the door. With his towering height, his mohawk, and his wrinkled skin, he intimidated all of the kids, making them shut down their fun almost instantly.

“Bea,” Katie ratted out too fast.

“Katie!” Jerricho scolded her with her tone of voice.

“She’s stealing all the gold to!”

“She gets up in the middle of the night to ransack the whole house!”

“She uses her powers to hide from all of us!” 

Eryk furrowed his brow. Jerricho and Vivica sat and watch in fear for Bea.

“Where is Bea?” Eryk finally asked.

“Vivian knows.” Katie was the harbinger of all blame.

“Jerricho, don’t let him leave!” Vivica

“Eryk, Vivica is trying to say something!” Eryk paused.

“Tell him, Bea isn’t like she used to be and maybe something is going on that we don’t know about.”

“We don’t know why Bea is stealing now, don’t be mad at her!”

“No one is getting in trouble, you two.” Eryk relaxed his face. “Bea might be in something serious, don’t worry, okay? I’ll help her.” And Eryk left. 

“Something serious!?” Jackie yelled. The other children started to make up their own stories to clear up Eryk’s mystery. But Jerricho and Vivica sat, one soft hand holding the other of metal. They could only worry about Bea, hoping the best for her.


	58. Adding up

“I’ve been talking around,” Eryk addressed Isamu. The two stood in the kitchen together as Pete loaded up the plates. “Like you guys had figured out, Bea and Kieren must have started avoiding everyone at the same time.”

Isamu watched as Lolias opened the giant barn door through the window. He was going in to sit down for breakfast after working with Tadaaki through the early morning.

“I suspect that Bea is using her Popping in order to get into the kitchen to steal food for both of them,” Eryk gave his idea. “The children were difficult to talk to about it, but they helped with that.” Isamu saw Pete smiling down at his spatula of eggs at the mention of children. 

“So, what are we going to do about it?” Isamu asked.

“They need to be brought inside.” Eryk shook his head as he looked down. “No matter what they’re thinking, they need to stay safe indoors. Nights are getting too cold to sleep out there.”  
Isamu nodded in agreement. He picked up the plates as Pete put the last of the eggs on them. 

“Lolias and I have been talking of going on a hunt for them, but we both agreed that might just deter them further away.” Eryk gave a quizzical look with an slow nod. 

“If anyone can talk some sense into them, it’s you, Eryk.” Pete clapped a hand on his shoulder. Eryk only shook his head.  
“No, if anyone could fix this, it’s Jenn.” Eryk looked upset with himself. “She’d be disappointed to find out we’d let this go on for so long.”

“Lolias and I will keep brainstorming,” Isamu assured. He walked out of the kitchen, plates in hand to the barn. He walked through the big doors. He was grateful when Lolias left them open because he’d struggle with the smaller door with his hands full.

“Don’t you think you’re getting sick of eggs?” Isamu asked as he sat down in between Lolias’s feet.

Lolias grimaced. “Eggs and sweet beans everyday, who could complain?” Isamu laughed at him. 

“You know what I miss the most?” Isamu asked. Lolias raised an eyebrow with a full mouth. “My mother's mushimono."

“My Gigi used to make us Empanadas for afternoons on days like this.”

“Where'd you grow up?”

“Remedios,” Lolias answered. Isamu kept his eyes confused. “Cuba.” He smiled down at his plate. “The beach was beautiful there, I'd do anything to smell the ocean again… I'd almost forgotten I was famous down there.”

“Famous?” Isamu asked.

“Yeah,” Lolias smirked with pride. “I was the youngest professional gymnast around. I surpassed my instructor pretty fast when I started. I wanted to be in the Olympics."

“Anything special you can do?” Isamu asked. 

Lolias laughed. “I might be a little rusty.” Lolias moved as far back into the barn as he could. “Don't judge,” Lolias warned. Isamu only laughed.

Lolias took a breath and then slowly released it. He leaned forward as far as he could in his sitting position. He then pushed all his weight onto his forearms. He slowly spread his legs further and further until he felt a slight burn on the inside of his thighs. He pointed his toes as he pushed himself up onto his arms and lifted his legs. He brought his legs together and pointed them as straight up as he could. He then released a breath and let one of his legs bend forward, brushing against his hair. The other leg relaxed, but didn't come as close as the other. A huge smile spread on Lolias's face as the sensation of tightness and stretch in his core brought back wonderful memories.

He looked to Isamu, who was sitting cross-legged not too far away. The smaller man's face bloomed an embarrassed pink. Lolias laughed and relaxed, careful not to kick the loft as he sat back onto the floor.

“Not as good as I used to be,” Lolias confessed.

“That's really impressive though,” Isamu didn't let Lolias humble himself.

“Well, thank you.” Lolias smirked at a thought. “You could try it. I could help you.”

“Oh, I don't know.” Isamu looked down to the place where his arm should have been.

“Come on, let's just try first,” Lolias encouraged. Isamu smiled, glad Lolias didn't underestimate him.

“Alright, let's do it.”


	59. No Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plan is worked out.

Vivica sat in the kitchen, at the small table that could only sit four people. Three of the chairs were filled with July, Jerricho, and herself. The table had to be kept small sense there was so much cooking in the kitchen throughout the day.

Vivica felt like the people at the table were the only ones that cared about the well-being of Bea and apparently Kieren.  
Vivica heard as Eryk entered the kitchen, Vivian following close behind. Her brother was sulking like he always did.

Vivian sat down at the final seat of the table with his pout still sticking. Eryk moved to stand up against the counter near the window above the sink. Two other men joined the mohawked man at the counter. The prince and the one eyed man both standing close to each other, their arms crossed respectively.  
Vivian kept his head down, but looked up occasionally at the girls sitting at the table. He'd quickly look away when he made eye contact with them. He was a fool for even checking, because everyone was staring, waiting for him to talk. 

“All you have to do is tell us what you saw and where you saw it,” Eryk attempted to prompt him into saying something.

“I told you, I didn't see anything!” Vivian kept his head lowered.

“He's lying,” Vivica told Jerricho.

“Vivica says he's lying,” Jerricho made audible. 

“The other kids all say they heard from you about Bea and Kieren,” Eryk said, holding the bridge of his nose.

July placed a hand on Vivian's shoulder. “You're not in trouble, we're trying to help Bea and Kieren, okay?” Vivian looked up with guilty eyes despite being told many times that he hadn't done anything wrong.

“I saw fire,” He turned to make eye contact with Eryk. Isamu tensed at his position at the counter. “But it didn't look like normal fire. It was too yellow and white.”

“Where?” Eryk prodded.

“The edge of the field.” Vivian looked out the kitchen door window. “On the treeline.”

“What about Bea with food?” Pete got him back on track.

Vivian twisted around to meet eyes with Pete. “She was taking a lot. Like she was going to be gone long.”

“Did she have a bag?” July asked. 

“No.”

July looked to nod at Eryk. “You can go now, Vivian.”

The boy scurried off to the upstairs where the other children spent their days.

“So, no bag,” Eryk said.

“They don't plan to go anywhere far away, that's something.” Pete rolled his eyes.

“It's not that Bea was going to be long either, it was because she was feeding Kieren too,” July commented.

“So, what's it all mean?” Jerricho asked in honor of Vivica.

“They’re building fires to keep warm at night. That will give us a beacon to where they are,” July explained.

“By the treeline is a danger in itself.” Eryk shook his head, disappointed at the recklessness.

“Kieren is staying awake the whole time,” Isamu chimed in. “His fire doesn't stay burning when he's asleep.” Everyone was quiet for that.

“Well, he can only stay awake for so long, right Isamu?” Pete jabbed Isamu with his elbow. Isamu would have blushed from being caught asleep on Lolias's foot, but he'd learned to not be deterred by anything Pete said.

“So, when are we doing this?” July asked.

“Tonight,” Eryk said. “As soon as that fire of theirs goes out, so are we.”

“Oh, could you imagine the drama of Kieren and Isamu back together again!?” Pete pretended to be a teenager in love with soap operas. “Two lovers reunited on the edge of the forest. The Romance!” Pete swooned. Isamu couldn't help but smile at the act.

“Isamu won't be coming with us,” Eryk stated, unimpressed with Pete.

“What?! But it's his boyfriend!” Pete tried to defend him.

“Kieren and Isamu are both struggling through this,” Eryk tried to explain.

“Yeah,” July turned her smile downwards. “They’re both having complicated emotions, we don't need 'drama’ to further complicate things.”

Pete looked truly wounded. “Don't worry, Pete,” Isamu reassured. “I think I need a few more nights of good sleep before I deal with anything serious. I sincerely hope that Kieren comes inside safe and sound.” He pat Pete on the shoulder, who only gawked. Isamu bid everyone goodnight before heading to the barn with Lolias.

When he entered, Lolias was doing simple stretches. “Ready?” Lolias asked when they met eyes.

“Absolutely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Absolutely. AbsolutelytheV. Haha.


	60. Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Investigating happiness.

Loud laughter filled the air. Kieren jumped up at it, surprised that any noise would be heard outside, since the sun was setting and everyone had turned in for the night after working. Kieren looked to the house to hone in on the noise, but his mind told him it wasn’t coming from the house.

Kieren glanced to Bea, who was resting on the ground. It would be getting cold soon, so he would hurry back after investigating.

Kieren took off, sticking to the darker side of the field as he approached the house. He heard faint talking, but not like the roar of laughter he had heard earlier. Laughter rung out again, making Kieren jump once again. It was much louder now that he was closer. He peeked around the house to the barn. He only knew one person that could be that loud. 

Kieren glanced back towards Bea, even though he couldn’t see her from the distance. He bit his lips before rushing through the grass to the barn. He heard loud talking when he was close enough, but the walls of the barn distorted it enough to be unintelligible.

Kieren approached the side door, staying close to the ground. He rose up slowly, his hair falling from his face as he looked into the small vertical window of the door.

The laughter continued as he looked into to see the scene before him. Lolias laid his finger on the floor, the tip near Isamu’s shoulder. Isamu had one of his legs up in the air and the other bent at an awkward angle behind him. Isamu was talking with a goofy smile on his face. Then Lolias started laughing again. Isamu laughed too, falling down onto his torso. The two laughed together and Kieren smiled at it, chuckling due to the infection of laughter.

Kieren stood only to let himself fall to lay down in the grass. He looked up to see the moon and the stars twinkling brightly together. He smiled with a sigh. He stood and moved back towards the treeline, but the sun on the horizon caught his eye. He paused. The sun would burn away any star and every moon during the day.

Kieren wrapped himself up in his arms before moving through the field back to Bea.


	61. Doubt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isamu and Lolias can't sleep... again.

Isamu sat with his eyes closed, nearly asleep, but that final wave had not crashed over him yet. He kept thinking about Kieren. How could he not? He knew he should be there tonight to get him, to help him, but he knew better that Kieren needed whatever space he wanted.

“Isamu,” Lolias said his name. He popped open his eyes to see Lolias, staring down at his cat, Sunshine, petting her. “What are we going to do when Kieren…?” He didn’t have to say it. They were both in the same state of mind.

Isamu remembered the last night Kieren spoke to him. He said he needed time to think. Alone.

“Lolias,” Isamu started. “No matter what happens, no matter what he says, Kieren doesn’t want to be alone. He always says he doesn’t, but he hates being alone.”

“I hear that,” Lolias chuckled slightly. Isamu looked up to his face. He was happy Lolias could be lighthearted so often. “He would cry and squirm in his sleep, I’d hold him and he’d stop immediately. But when he woke up, he always told me not to do that again.”

Isamu perked up at that. “He had night terrors? Here?” 

“Yeah, it was really sad, honestly.” Lolias looked like he was remembering one of those sad nights.

“And you could stop them?” Isamu continued to ask.

“Yeah, I did a couple times, I suppose.”

“Don’t leave him alone,” Isamu commanded. “You can take care of him.”

“Isamu… no…”

“He…” Isamu choked. “Kieren, he needs to be with someone.”

“Isamu, I’m not a replacement for you.” Lolias looked mortified at Isamu’s requests.

“You’re not… you’re better than me.” Isamu released a breath. “I’m not the same as I used to be. I’m missing all the pieces I used to have.” Isamu touched his scarred face. “He left me after a night terror.” He looked to meet eyes with Lolias. “He said it was of you.”

“Stop, stop, that’s enough.” Lolias covered his face with both hands. He wiped them off with a sigh. “He doesn’t want me, and that’s that. If he doesn’t want either of us, that’s that.” Lolias breathed hard. Isamu could tell he was struggling to keep his composure. “I thought that was something I learned from you.”

“I love Kieren, with my whole heart,” Isamu tried to explain. “I want what’s best for him. You can be that. You are that! He was so happy when I got here because he was with you.”

“It’s not up to me, Isamu,” Lolias tried to stop him. “If it was up to me, he’d be with you. You’re what’s good for him. He actually loves you back.”

“Lolias, please,”

“No, Isamu,” Lolias pleaded. “It’s not our choice.” Isamu was touched by the maturity Lolias showed. “I’m sorry,” Lolias tried. “This is all my fault.”

“No,” Isamu said, remembering the night he left for the Selenian army. “It’s mine.”


	62. Panicked Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eryk and Jenn try to solve an issue

Eryk watched Jenn open and slam her door as she rushed in through the kitchen door. Eryk opened his mouth, but Jenn pushed through his voice.

 

“We have more important things to talk about.” Eryk snapped his mouth shut, fear coursing through him as Jenn spoke in a grim tone. “Ellenor is dead. She died during surgery after being shot in the chest because someone was trying to assassinate the president.”

 

Eryk’s eyes were bulging out of his head. “I don’t know what to do, Eryk. We need a plan. They’re going to come here, collect all of her things, burn it all!”

 

“We need the deed to this house is what we need.”

 

“No, it would be too suspicious. Everyone knows about Danny’s request to give it to Ellenor. Everyone knows they were close! But if some stupid private that got discharged four weeks into the war had the deed to a house that the most famous general in the world, I think some red flags would be raised.”

 

“This is ridiculous, surely we can do something!” Eryk urged. Jenn placed her finger to her lips to hush him. She looked down the hall as if into the house to everyone laying in the den.

 

“Don’t tell the others yet. They won’t know what this means for us.” Jenn sighed. “The whole country has its eyes on Ellenor. She saved the president. She’s going to have the most famous obituary in the twenty-second century!”

 

“What are we going to do?” Eryk asked in a grave way.

 

“We’re going to have to fight when they come.” Jenn lowered her head. “We need everyone to stay together.” Eryk cringed at that. “What? What’s wrong?”

 

“Well, it’s just… Kieren,” Jenn groaned loudly, covering her face. “He won’t talk to anyone. I don’t know exactly what’s wrong with him.”

“You’d think he’d be happy with his boyfriend here now.” Jenn crossed her arms unhappily. “I don’t care, whoever is mad with whoever needs to figure it out now. We need to start staying indoors. Avoid the outside if at all possible. We need to find a way to hid Lolias in that damn barn.”

 

“What do you mean by ‘we?’” Eryk asked hesitantly.

 

“I’m going to start staying with you. My husband would have a fit if he found out about this.”

 

“You married a patriot?” Eryk asked almost appalled.

 

“It was a long time ago,” Jenn covered her eyes. “You always forget I was in the war too.”

 

“How about we stack all the hay up in a certain way?” Eryk asked. “Make a wall for him to get behind.”

 

Jenn nodded at that. “We should have some people stay out in the barn with him… Last time…” Jenn remembered the time the Selenian army truck had come, terrifying them all. Everyone had left Lolias. “I don’t want him to…”

 

“Be alone,” Eryk finished in a much more appropriate way than Jenn would have picked.

 

“We need a plan, Eryk.” Jenn tapped her fingers nervously on the counter. “We’re going to have to make a defense team, plus hide all the children, not to mention hiding all the beans we still have. They’re going to click everything together.”

 

“What are you thinking?” Eryk tried to keep Jenn on track.

 

“I can only think of the kids right now.” Jenn released a sad sigh. “We need to get rid of every paper with any of their names on them, hide the toys, and keep them away when we are going to…”

 

“Fight,” Eryk finishes for her again. 

 

“Right…” Jenn looks down with an awful sad look.

 

“I think it’s pretty obvious who will be on our… artillery side of things, but who could we leave with the children?” Eryk tried to think of a candidate, but no one specifically came to mind.

 

“I know what you mean,” Jenn chuckled. “I wish we could just leave Bea with them, but she’s a kid, just like the others. They need a level-headed adult.”

 

“But who likes kids?” Eryk tried to ask. 

 

Jenn made her lips tight in a frown. “Not only that, but someone who wouldn’t be more valuable out there fighting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of hypocritical, huh?
> 
> Sorry about the weird spacing, I'll figure it out.


	63. Changing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellenor is changing.

Ellenor stood. She had to hunch over to walk because if she stood straight, a pain would rocket through her abdomen and through her brain. She got headaches very easily, but her physical therapist said it wouldn’t last forever.

 

Ellenor’s lung had been punctured by the bullet. A machine that helped her breathe was constantly at her side, on her other side was her wife, always helping her to walk. When they were together, Ellenor never felt like she was an individual but rather a single piece of a greater truth she was on the tip of grasping.

 

Frieda had noticed that Ellenor wasn’t hungry like she normally was. She wanted to eat, but not the same kinds of foods. She felt herself not only shying away from more salty things, but focusing her diet on more simplistic items. When she felt hungry, she would only want plain bread, with the occasional white meat with it. She was full with less and satisfied with more.

 

Ellenor also would sit back in the cafeteria and watch other people eat. She would smile when they finished and give them little nods. Frieda thought it was cute when Ellenor looked like a mom sharing a family meal. Ellenor would wait to eat when everyone was done with a big smile on her face. 

 

When Ellenor would try to sleep, she would wake up randomly in the middle of the night. She would often wake Frieda up with her because the violent spasms she would have. When awake, Ellenor would describe in incredible detail about the dreams she was having. While most weren’t even scenes, but rather beautifully colored landscapes, Ellenor could say every single thing that could be said about the things she saw. Frieda took to drawing these images to document all them for Ellenor.

 

Lastly, when Ellenor and Frieda found themselves alone, Ellenor would share the most cogitative thoughts with Frieda, leading them into the most deep conversations. Frieda could tell she didn’t realize it, but Ellenor was putting complex ideas into words. Ellenor and Frieda had shared meaningful conversations before, but Ellenor’s words were everything she dreamed of when they had met. Ellenor spoke to Frieda about the interconnection between living humans and stardust from millions of years ago. She gave her thoughts on time in relation to infinity and how humans may seem insignificant, but the concept of being aware of that makes every individual just that much more important. Ellenor raved about the idea of everything to be set into motion just perfectly so that everyone today could exist.

 

Frieda could tell Ellenor was changing, day by day. She wasn’t sure if Ellenor had noticed, but she didn’t seem to mind because Ellenor was so happy when she ate, spoke, dreamt, and smiled. Frieda decided that the change was for the better. Frieda was happy with Ellenor with whatever was happening to her.

 

Until one night, when Ellenor jerked awake. She shouted when she did, grabbing her head, holding her hand against her forehead between her eyebrows. Frieda was awake in a moment, holding onto Ellenor’s shoulder.

 

“What’s wrong?” She asked with urgency. Ellenor’s face was completely contorted in horrible pain. It hurt Frieda to see her like that. Frieda could see Ellenor’s eyes moving rapidly under her tight eyelids. She felt like she couldn’t do anything but watch as Ellenor struggled.

 

A nurse ran in the door, stopping in the frame. Frieda looked to the nurse with pleading eyes. Another yell made Frieda look back to Ellenor.

 

Ellenor retracted her hands away from her face in a rapid movement. Her eyes stayed shut, but the muscles in her face relaxed. Then, a slit split across Ellenor’s forehead, just above and between her eyebrows. The slit opened and a massive eye blinked at Frieda. Frieda jumped back in surprise from the purple eye. Images flashed across the eye, too fast for Frieda to comprehend.

 

The eye shut, and Ellenor opened her eyes. “They’re going to attack the naval base in Arlington.” Ellenor’s eyes look terrified. She snapped her head towards the door, making eye contact with the nurse without even having to search for the other set of eyes. “Call the Admiral and Marshal.” She commanded with only terror in her voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ellenor's third eye opens. Literally.
> 
> Now when she has visions of the future, this will happen.


	64. Conspire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenn was a patriot.

Eryk looked horrible. He looked miserable in his own skin as he stood up against the counter. He kept his arms crossed, but they threatened to go completely limp in exhaustion at his sides. Isamu watched his with worried eyes from the tiny kitchen table.

 

Isamu was glad he didn't know what Eryk was thinking about. But he knew that wouldn't last. The kitchen was full of adults that helped with the bigger picture of the war and the farm. Isamu didn't know why he was included in it. All others were already in bed. It was a guarantee that the children wouldn't hear.

 

The group included Eryk in the kitchen, of course. But Isamu wasn't sure what everyone else was doing there. He hadn't met many people that lived there yet. He felt like he barely knew anyone, but knowing five people was fifteen percent. 

 

A young woman, July sat at the table. She could read emotions and was very good at deciphering which emotion came from who. Sachi sat next to her. He could pick up on brainwaves and determine if someone was lying. Together, they were a perfect team, but they'd never spoken to each other.

 

Tadaaki could grow plants and use the sun as energy. The man was a walking talking plant. Standing behind him was Aki. The rambunctious young adult could bid any animal to do as she asked, as long as they were smaller than a squirrel. It was decided that they would make a great team. Again, they didn’t know the first thing about each other.

 

Pete was there too. Pete acted like someone who couldn’t be serious, so Isamu questioned why he was there. Except, it turned out the Prince was a force that kept people healthy and young. When with Pete, people didn’t age, get sick, or bleed, but they did heal inpecibly fast. Isamu wasn’t surprised to find out Pete was only nineteen because of how young he looked. He also wasn’t surprised that he was held at such a high regard with the other adults.

 

The moment Jenn walked in was when everyone sat straight up. She looked more determined and focused in comparison to Eryk's attitude. The plan had already been talked out individually between members of it, but they were all together now.

 

July and Sachi would be together as a team. They would sit on the porch and just listen for anyone they didn’t recognize. Therefore, the two would also go around and hang out with people as they went about their own business. That way, they could get used to how people sounded with their powers.

 

Tadaaki was to grow only what was needed to keep the people living at the farm surviving. Aki would control animals to make the field look more empty than it actually was, eating any seeds and helping to make the plants look as though they had been dead for a long time.

 

Pete would be taking care of the children. He would start being with them for most of the day in order to gain some trust and to get any awkward feelings of a father figure being forcefully introduced. Pete would be able to keep the children safe with his power and allow them to keep being kids.

 

Then… there was the rest of them. Everyone else was what Eryk called “artillery.” Anyone that could throw a punch, would. Isamu knew they would come equipped with proper gear to take out any level of “super human,” but he didn’t want to address that elephant.

 

Everyone now was being told where they would be. No one was allowed to be outside anymore. Ever since the time Tadaaki, Sachi, Hwan, and Isamu came, when Kieren ran outside right in front of them, now everyone would be assigned where they stay. 

 

Minus the seven children and Pete, then minus July and Sachi, the remaining twenty-five people would be split up to stay in either the barn or the house. 

 

Lolias was a no-brainer, Aki asked to stay in the barn, in case she called on animals. Tadaaki did as well, so he could soak up the sun through the punctured roof. Eryk was to stay inside, finalizing paper documents, and burning anything with the children’s name written on it. Jenn also wanted to stay inside. She said it was because she wanted to make sure Pete got the children situation completely under control. Everyone else hadn’t chosen yet because no one knew about what was going on.

 

“Where will you be staying, Isamu?” Jenn asked, writing down the planning on a clipboard. Isamu frowned.

 

“I thought it was obvious,” Isamu gave a noise that was a half laugh, half scoff. “I’ll be staying with Lolias.” 

 

Jenn nodded. “I was just wondering, since Kieren said he’ll be staying inside.” Isamu’s breath caught in his throat.

 

“Woah,” Pete jumped in. “When did you talk to Kieren?” His voice expressed true confusion and concern.

 

“When I arrived of course.” Jenn looked down as she wrote apathetically. “He’s the strongest one here, he’s the perfect weapon. I don’t know why he wouldn’t be the first one I’d talk to.”

 

“Hey, hey, hey,” July sneered. “You can’t just call him a 'weapon' like that.”

 

Jenn looked up confused. But her confusion turned into a deep scowl. “Do you not understand what’s happening here?” Jenn asked condescendingly. “We are about to go charging into a huge battle and you think everyone can just play pretend and do whatever job they want?”

 

July’s face mimicked Jenn’s anger. “You wouldn’t understand what it’s like to be taken advantage of.”

 

“You’re right,” Jenn said, but she still belittled July. “But I do understand what it’s like to have a gun placed on my head. I honestly don’t think you’d be able to stay composed like that.”

 

“You are being just like them, you know,” July raised her voice. “Forcing us to fight for you.”

 

“You’re lucky you’re not on the front lines anymore, _private,_ ” Jenn taunted her status in the military. “I’m giving you the job of scout, show a little gratitude.”

 

“I don’t care what you think about me, or how grateful I’m supposed to be to you, but you should show my friends a little dignity.”

 

“I’m showing dignity to your death by putting a weapon out there.”

 

“He’s a _person_ , Jennifer!”

 

“Guys, please,” Pete inserted himself, which Isamu was beyond grateful for, since he was about to explode himself. “It’s fine, Jenn, just watch your wording. July,” Pete paused. Isamu could tell he had no desire to justify Jenn’s anger. “She wasn’t raised like us…” Isamu could see Pete’s discomfort in his own words. “She doesn’t know what she means.”

 

The group disbanded from the kitchen. Isamu hesitated, looking up the stairs. He knew Kieren was only a few meters away. He wondered if Kieren was sitting up, waiting for Isamu like he had for him for so many nights. But Isamu figured he was sound asleep without giving Isamu a second thought.

 

Isamu turned away from the stairs and followed Aki and Tadaaki out to the barn.


	65. Barn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isamu gets his ideas of the future interrupted.

Lolias was showing off to Tadaaki, Isamu, and Aki. How could he not? Isamu justified Lolias’s vain behavior because he deserved it. Lolias was so talented in his gymnastics. Isamu was nowhere near surprised about him being the best in his entire country. 

It was fantastic to hang out with the three of them within the barn. The other two wouldn’t watch respectfully and quiet like Isamu typically did. No, they whooped and holler at Lolias, encouraging his every move. Isamu joined in with the banter since it was so infectious. Isamu could see a sly smirk on Lolias’s face when they yelled for him. He had to refrain from laughing when someone made particularly risque remarks or noises. It was only boosting his confidence.

Isamu couldn’t help but hope that this would continue when the others joined them in the barn. He expected a fifty-fifty split in people who stayed inside and people who came out to the barn, but he hoped it would be a smaller group. That way, everyone could stick together. He figured, the less people, the closer they could all be. 

Isamu smiled to himself as Lolias continued to put on his own little show for the other three. He thought about all the different people that could take part in this. He wondered if Lolias would teach and help others like he had been with Isamu. He laughed to himself. They could all put on shows for each other. A different person every night. Isamu smiled at the distraction from the truth. The happiness found could be so satisfying despite the reason they'd all have to be together.

While Isamu daydreamed and assumed so much about the near future, somewhere he knew that no one else would be as optimistic as he was. He knew that Lolias wouldn't want to get along with the others. He knew that everyone would be terrified for what was coming. He knew that he would eventually be discouraged by it all.

“Isamu…” Lolias said his name gently. He broke out of his thoughts. Isamu looked up to Lolias. He looked past Isamu and towards the smaller door to the barn. Isamu turned slowly around to look at the door. 

There Kieren stood, his hair even longer than Isamu could remember. He had strands hanging down over certain parts of his face. He wore massive pants and a large sweater, but Isamu could tell he had lost weight because of his concave cheeks and tight collarbone.

Isamu almost started to smile, considered running to the figure in the door, but an oversized finger tapped his shoulder lightly, as if to comfort him. The touch reminded Isamu of the nights Lolias and him had shared in misery. Ismau stayed composed and still, looking onto his lover that had left him to be alone. He was lucky enough to have Lolias put up with his pitiful moping.

“Isamu…” Kieren started, barely looking at him before looking right up into Lolias's eyes. “Lolias…”

Isamu could feel Lolias cross his arms without looking. “What?” Isamu stayed silent, too scared to ruin this one moment with Kieren in his presence, scared he'd leave again. 

“I have to talk to you…” Kieren took a step forward. “Before…”

“Before we're all separated for who knows how long?” Lolias went ahead and finished the sentence. “How awful would that be?” Tension grew thick and fast. Isamu didn't know what to do but stay frozen.

“Please,” Kieren took a few more steps. He was a mere two meters away from Isamu. 

“Well,” Lolias used a bitter tone. “What do you have to say for yourself?” 

“I was hoping we could be alone for this,” he glanced at Tadaaki and Aki, both watching the conversation.

Lolias glanced back at them as well. Lolias more than anything wanted to have a talk, to be alone, to listen, but he was so full of anger with Kieren.

“Okay,” Isamu said and that was enough to keep Lolias from exploding. The barn doors were opened, allowing Lolias to go outside. Isamu stayed close to his side, not sure what else to do but hold onto the serenity found in Lolias’s comfort.

Lolias looked into the barn, right at Aki and Tadaaki. He wished he didn’t have to leave them alone. He slid the doors shut.

Lolias sat down slowly, crossing his legs and leaning against the front wall of the barn. Isamu kept close, sitting barely in front of his oversized leg resting on the ground. He wished Lolias would pick up on his clues and take over the situation for him.

Kieren sat in front of them, facing forward. Isamu was almost convinced the moment was a fever dream and he would wake up any moment. He kept his eyes trained on Kieren to make sure he didn’t disappear.

“I’ve been thinking a lot lately,” Kieren started. He spoke as though he had played the conversation out in his head many times, planning his words over and over. “I wish I was in more control than I actually am, and I wish I could tell you everything…” Kieren looked up to Lolias. “But there’s still so much I don’t understand.” Kieren brought his hands together to rub at his palms, a nervous gesture.

“I haven’t been honest with you. Either of you. Which, I regret more than anything. You both have given me…” Kieren’s shoulders caved into himself. “ … So much. And it’s so selfish of me to keep things hidden from you, especially when you offer all of yoursel… ves… to me.” Kieren sounded truly full of sadness and sympathy for both of them. Isamu had to continue to hold himself back so that he wouldn’t rush forward to comfort Kieren and tell him he didn’t care how much he lied, just if they were together. He felt like Lolias wouldn’t do the same, and that’s why he refrained.

“I’ve been having… dreams… visions… terrible scenes playing out within me.” Kieren said as if it was a confession. But both Lolias and Isamu knew of the night terrors that plagued Kieren in the night. “It’s always the same thing…” Kieren hugged himself. “It’s at my house… my parents’ house. It’s burning, and everyone inside is dying. It was lit by me… I did it.” Kieren’s voice wavered threatening to break. “But… it’s been changing.”

“I used to see Isamu in the house… burning. But now… I see you both there. You’re always dying from this blazing fire I can’t control, yet it’s mine and mine alone.” Isamu knew all of this already. He had heard about it many times from the very night they started living together. He wondered why he hadn’t told Lolias.

“But… this dream,” Kieren’s complexion turned green. He was ready to throw up at just the wrong move. “It’s not a dream.” Isamu raises a confused eyebrow. “It’s a memory.”

“When I was younger, I was the first of the super humans. No one even knew what they were yet. There’s not a day I can remember when I couldn’t control fire.” Kieren clasped his fingers tightly together. “I was the youngest of six children. Money was… a difficulty. Some nights I wasn’t allowed to eat, and other nights, none of us even could…” 

“My parents, they were going to sell me. To be able to keep them fed, alive… I’m sure… but I… I…” Kieren started choking on his words. Isamu could barely take it. Lolias placed his hand in front of Isamu, as if reading his mind. “I killed them. All of them. Burned them alive.” Isamu’s stomach clenched harder than he could stand. He was clutching his hands, fingernails digging into his palms. 

“I fear myself, and my capabilities. I’m terrified to hurt you.” Isamu looked down to the ground, avoiding the eye contact. “What if I can’t control myself? What if I do something I can’t take back?” Kieren struggled to breathe evenly. “And now that you’re both here, and I see you both, and I love you both, I’m worried I’ll lose everything… everything I have.”

“But I can’t bare to be away from you!” Kieren pleaded. Isamu looked back up to see his sweet glossy eyes. “I need you, I need you both. I love you both. It’s so painful to not have you holding me.” Isamu’s heart ached at the compassion in him. “Please, forgive me. I never want to hurt you.”

Isamu couldn’t take it anymore. He closed the space in between himself and Kieren. He grasped Kieren as tightly as he could. He was so grateful to finally be with him again. “I know, Kieren.” Isamu finally pushed some words out of his tight throat. “I know you’d never try hurt me. You didn’t mean to do that to your family, you can control this now, I know you can.” 

“Are you crazy?!” The moment was broken by the voice of a giant. Isamu jumped. He pulled away from Kieren and looked back to Lolias. His arms were thrown out in confusion and his face was distorted in a look asking Isamu if he was serious. Isamu’s face melted of any loving emotion to look at Lolias, scared of what was to come.

“He literally attacked you the day you tried to rescue him from being homeless!” Lolias shouted to justify his outburst. Isamu quickly looked back to Kieren. 

“You told him about that?” Isamu asked. 

“He just told us he was a murderer and he has thought about killing us too!” 

“He can’t control his dreams. He didn’t mean to hurt anybody.”

“How about all the other people that came to that shitty house, huh? You think they weren’t attacked? Not everyone that showed up was immune to fire!” Lolias made the muscles in his fingers tight. “You’re the only reason he stopped killing people! You made him realize he couldn’t kill everyone!”

“Lolias, that’s enough!” Isamu couldn’t imagine how upset this all was making Kieren.

“No, you’re insane!” Lolias grabbed his temples. “We’re supposed to be in this for ourselves now, remember? You’re putting yourself in danger just being around him.” He stood up, sick of the moment.

“He wouldn’t hurt you, Lolias.” Isamu tried to stop him as he opened the doors to the barn

“He tried to hurt you, Isamu. Get it through your thick skull!” Lolias let out an irritated noise. “You… idiot!”

“Lolias, wait!” He slammed the doors shut.


	66. Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellenor gets a visit as she continues to recover.

The Admiral walked in. Frieda sat up in attention at his presence, nudging Ellenor awake. She drowsily blinked open her eyes. She jumped when she saw the decorated man in uniform. The Marshal came in soon after. The sweet man wore the warmest smile on his face.

“Hello, Ladies,” The Marshal greeted them. “How are you feeling?”

“Alive,” Ellenor answered gratefully. The Marshal chuckled at that.

“We’re glad you are,” The Admiral said to her. It was the first time he had ever spoken to Ellenor. She gave him a sure nod. 

“You have no idea how many people you saved last night,” The Marshal stated plainly. “It’s awful we can’t give you credit.” Ellenor relaxed, melting her body into the cushioning of the bed.

“This… third eye of yours,” The Admiral started nervously. “You can’t control it?”

“No, sir, I could never control my visions.” Ellenor gave a straight answer.

“I told you not to ask that, Leon,” The Marshal chided him.

The Marshal shook his head and continued. “We were told your eye had flashing images.” 

Ellenor nodded. “I didn’t see it for myself, but I believe it.”

“Ellenor,” The Marshal approached. “You have a gift. You are a gift! We need you to help us finish the war.”

“What do you need?”

“We just need these… visions… to be recorded, documented, and analyzed. For the sake of the Provencal world to thrive.”

Ellenor couldn’t turn away to Frieda. She knew her face would be full of doubt, but she couldn’t let the Marshal think she was anything but loyal. “Anything.” Ellenor says blandly.

“You will be under constant surveillance,” The Admiral came close, holding a bundle of papers. “Any images on that eye will be recorded so that we can see what you see.”

“Yes,” The Marshal joined in. “The great thing about your vision at the banquet or at your encampment is that you were there and knew exactly how to handle the situation. But in cases like the submarines at Arlington, e didn’t know exactly what to do with the information you gave us.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Ellenor panicked. “I didn’t think about it, it was so--”

“Hush hush, my dear, we lost nothing that was important.” The Marshal placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but the wording of his thoughts scared Ellenor.

“Consider this a job, a promotion even,” The Admiral smiled. “You are protected by everything we can offer you and all you have to do is wait for whatever happens to happen.”

“Constant surveillance?”

“Yes.”

“Never alone?”

“You’ll be given time with your wife of course, we’d never interfere with your blooming relationship.” Ellenor kept her eyes trained on the two men. She knew the moment she saw how much Frieda didn’t want to do this, she’d back down.

“Okay,” Ellenor agreed to take the so called “promotion.”


	67. Distraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lolias feels dead inside.

Lolias sat against the wall of the barn. His body looked hollow and lifeless. The giant seemingly dead body made everyone in the barn uncomfortable. July stared up at Lolias, the image making her soul urk. She looked to Aki for some kind of advice. But July could feel everyone was highly distraught by the giant looking so empty.

She had tried to offer him food, a joke, or something to get him out of this rut of vacancy. She didn’t understand how he was feeling. All that she felt was everyone’s worry for him along with a void where Lolias should have been.

When Kieren and Isamu had passed Sachi and July on the porch, both looking depressed, July had to investigate. Those in the barn had said they’d heard yelling from the outside after Kieren came in to retrieve Isamu and Lolias. July could only connect the dots for herself. Anger. Passion. Distrust. July could barely take it.

“Lolias was showing us some really cool tricks,” Tadaaki spoke to break the tension through the silence.

“Oh yeah,” Aki joined in. “Weren’t you a gymnast too, July?” Awkwardness. Hope. Curiosity. July looked up to Lolias to see his interest peaked. He was curious about her, and her past. She smile slightly.

“Well, I don’t know…” July feigned modesty. “It was a long time ago…”

“Come on,” Tadaaki pushed. “You’ll be better than any of us.”

“But not Lolias, of course,” Aki tacked on at the end.

“Okay, maybe just a little.” July stood. She walked to where there was plenty of room in the barn. She stood tall with her hands up before lunging forward. As she did she forced her foot that was still on the ground down as hard as she could. While airborne, she continued to flip until landing opposite of how she started.

“Woah,” Tadaaki commented.

“That’s amazing!” Aki praised.

“The perfect aerial walkover.” Lolias said with a smirk. “I’m almost impressed.” July laughed. “We should practice… together.” Lolias said with a nod. 

July nodded. “I’d like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been lazy, I'll make it up to you


	68. Loyalty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isamu questions himself.

The more Isamu walked with Kieren, the more his posture falling further and further forward. His mind was doing flips on itself and he was so lost. He was supposed to be happy. He was happy! So why did it feel so wrong?

When Kieren reached the bottom of the stairs, Isamu jerked his hand back towards himself, slipping out of Kieren’s grasp. The younger one faltered in confusion before turning around to face Isamu. 

Isamu clasped his hands together at his chest. He looked down to the floor, trying to come up with what to say. He could only hear Lolias’s voice yelling at him.

“I think I should stay in the barn,” Isamu stated quietly. His mind was driving him mad with its uncertainty. “It’s just,” Isamu came up with a way to justify his words. “We already worked it all out, you know? Everyone expects me to stay out there, and no one else is allowed to change their decision.”

“But you're changing your decision for me.” Kieren said with a quirky voice. “I'm sure Jenn will make an exception.”

“Kieren…” Isamu hesitated. “Lolias is hurting… I need to be there for him!” Isamu looked up with determination in his eyes and voice. “He was there for me, now I need to be there for him.”

“When were you hurting?” Kieren asked, cocking his head to the side.

Isamu couldn't answer that, couldn't believe Kieren had even said that. “I'm going to stay in the barn.”

“Okay,” Kieren said with no further questioning. Isamu left him with nothing else.

Once outside, Isamu released a loud tell of frustration. He grabbed at his head with his scarred calloused hand. Isamu felt anger again. It was becoming more familiar to him.


	69. Paranoid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> July and Sachi have become good friends.

July and Sachi laughed on the porch. The two were so grateful they had been placed together as a team. While they hadn't been friends before, they were becoming very close.

Both had come from similar roots. A traditional family, many siblings and extensions on either side. While Sachi was less athletic than July, they shared the same disdain to professional sports. They both had to share rooms, so extra chores, and was easily stepped on.

But it was their stories of how they were drafted that were scarily similar. A panic because of the overwhelming emotions, a talk with a family member, and a lecture on the “rules.” Both agreed it was total bullshit, except Sachi didn't like curse words, but would do anything to be with their family again. While Sachi thought July was way too good for her family and shouldn't care about them, July thought the same of him. The parallels between the two were uncanny. 

“That’s why I would never get a taxi.” Sachi finished.

July laughed. “Gosh, not even on one of those app things?”

“Especially not those.” They laughed again.

“Wait.” July’s laughter stopped immediately. She listened. Fear. Fear. Fear. “Someone is here, do you feel it?”

Sachi paused, not answering. His face looked pale with horror. “I do.”

“I don't recognize it,” July whispered.

“July, it's too soon. I can't do this!” Sachi panicked but in a hushed airy voice.

“Calm down, we were taught what to do for a reason,” July tried to console him, but she knew he knew her confidence was false.

“I don't remember what to do!” Tears were already in Sachi’s eyes. That was the main difference between the two of them. Sachi was very emotional.

“What's wrong?” Both turned towards the door on the porch. Jenn stood there looking as worried as ever. Fear. Fear. Fear. Jenn? Oh.

Sachi and July looked to each other as if they knew exactly what the other was thinking. Sachi’s face promptly turned red. July quickly looked back to Jenn.

“Sorry…” July said with embarrassment in her voice. “I didn't recognize you from your aura.” Jenn’s aged face contorted in misery. Fear. Loneliness. Panic. “You've just… barely been here.” July didn't know how to make up for the way she made Jenn feel. 

“We'll get used to you,” Sachi joined the conversation, but didn't help much. Loneliness. Loneliness. Fear.

Jenn sprawled a huge grin onto her face. “I'm sure you will. You guys are doing great.” Loneliness. Fear. Loneliness. Jenn shut the storm door and retreated back inside.


	70. Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieda doesn't like Ellenor's work.

The amount of money that was being given to Ellenor was unfathomable. Not only that, but her wife's life insurance was through the roof. They doubled it to account for Ellenor not having life insurance. Every meal was given to her by her employers. Any mortgage that she previously held was taken care of because of her supposed death. Ellenor was only profiting.

Except, only Frieda noticed it. Ellenor could be having lobster and steak for every meal, but no, Ellenor only asked for simple bread and white meat. Every image that could be used to help the Provencal army infiltrate the Selenian army brought a raise to the precognitive woman. The amount of money in the table made Frieda drop her jaw, but Ellenor never batted an eye, except for when her third eye opened. When Frieda mentioned the sum of money they would receive if either of them were to die, Ellenor would ignore the mention of money altogether and go on about the serenity that they could have together in death.

Working for the military has never been as easy as it had become. All Ellenor had to do was sit in front of a lense that was trained on her closed eye on the middle of her forehead. She was allowed to read, talk, or play games. But Ellenor sat in her chair with her legs crossed and her eyes shut. She called it Connecting.

After hours of sitting completely still, aside from the infrequent breaths taken, Ellenor’s third eye would pop open, flashing vivid images of horrifying tragedy striking the Provencal army. 

Every image was another hundred lives saved, every description was another thousand dollars saved, and every analysis was a year taken off the war. 

With the secret precognitive woman hidden as the Provencal army’s ultimate weapon, the war began to favor their side. 

But all good things must come to an end.

Frieda stood to the side of the room that observed Ellenor. A computer took the video of the eye and slowed them enough to be separated.   
Ellenor let out a strange noise. Frieda looked up to watch her. She saw as Ellenor’s face was contorted in pain. Frieda noticed the third eye was twitching vigorously between Ellenor’s drawn eyebrows. It was as if she was struggling to keep it shut. Her eyes were shut tightly as if to ward off the pain, her jaw was tight, along with her fists balled.

“Ellenor,” Frieda moved towards her with worry in her gait. Ellenor hadn't felt pain in the visions since the very first night that they happened. Frieda was grabbed by one of the attendants.

“Please, do not intervene, Miss Perime.” The younger woman’s voice was gentle and easy, but had undertones of condescending. Frieda had almost forgotten of her title of a rogue medic, but that woman's voice reminded her. 

“She's in pain!” Frieda tried to rationalize. 

“What's going on here?” A prideful voice entered the room. Frieda’s body went rigid with the recognition of the Marshal. Next to him, as always, was the Admiral. 

“Sir!” Frieda addressed the Marshal. She considered the man a friend since the night they had spent in the waiting room. Plus his frequent visits to Ellenor, she would update him on the strange simplistic way she lived when she could own the world. “Ellenor is in pain, her vision…”

“Is her comfort more important than the lives of others?” The adentant said to chide her. The woman knew exactly how to appeal to the men who were at the top of the food chain.

“Well, of course we don't want her to be hurting…” The Marshal commented.

“But we want this war to end some time soon,” The Admiral said with apathy painting his voice.   
Then a yell sounded in the room. Everyone's eyes shifted to the woman who seemed to be meditating through the pain. When her eyes shot open, all three of them did. Images flashed faster and more of them than ever had before. And once they did, they kept repeating. 

Frieda had a terrible feeling about all of this. She looked to the screen that displayed the recorded images. The attendant paused the video on an image. 

It was a massive house, colored dull blue by sun damage. In the distance, behind the house was a barn and a field full of sweet beans. Frieda frowned deeply. Was this a military base?

The next image was the barn burning with its two massive doors collapsed inside. 

The next was of eight men with military grade rifles raining bullets on toward the house.

The next was of a little girl running out of the house with blood staining her skirt and shoes.

The next picture only flashed on screen for a moment before Frieda slammed her hand down on the monitor. Instantly, the screen shattered, sending glass into the face of the attendant. He screamed as he moved away. 

Frieda took off and ran to Ellenor. She pushed the lense that recorded her to the ground. It too shattered. 

She grabbed Ellenor by the shoulders. The images only continued as her two original eyes poured gigantic endless tears.

“Ellenor!” She shouted. She heard the others gaining on her.

“They're going to die.” Ellenor said. Her voice was not phased but her crying, but it sounded as though she was losing every piece of love she had ever held. It hurt Frieda’s chest to hear her like that. “I can't save them. They're going to kill them.”

Frieda was ripped away from Ellenor and thrown to the ground.

Ellenor sat there lost in the storm of death from the eye that controlled her mind.

One of the attendants moved to grab the precognitive woman.

“Don't touch her!” Frieda screamed. Then she heard the telltale sound of a taser. She gasped as someone approached her with it. She kicked her legs up to get the attendant off of her. She then lunged to the guard holding out the taser. She wrapped her arms around it and saw the electricity shut down immediately. She threw it out of the man's hands and to the ground. She pushed the lanky man with all her might as she kicked his legs out from under him. 

Frieda saw one of the attendants holding Ellenor's chin up and the other holding another lens in front of her face. 

Frieda let out a yell as she threw herself at the one with the lense. She grabbed the lense and heard   
horrible clicking noises from within before the glass shattered. She took a firm hold of the camera and smacked the attendant with it. The attendant fell to the ground, covering her now bloody nose.

Frieda then turned to the woman attendant that still had her repulsive hands on her wife. Frieda threw a punch as hard as she could to connect with the face of the woman. Her neck seemed to lengthen intensely as her head was thrown back from her body. Frieda grabbed her, maneuvering to put her in a headlock. 

Then she heard the clicking of a revolver loading.

Frieda looked up to see the Marshal aiming a weapon at Ellenor. Ellenor's head was bowed as far down as it could as she trembled and tears fell from her face. Meanwhile, the Marshal stood with his head high, looking down at Frieda, aiming his centuries old gun at Ellenor.

“I knew you'd snap one day, rogue medic.” The Marshal sounded utterly disappointed with maximized anger. “Let her go.” Frieda almost just threw the woman and lunged for the Marshal, but the image of Ellenor’s blood on her hands from the night of the President’s attempted assassination stopped her. She released the attendant.

Next thing she knew, Ellenor and Frieda were in handcuffs and were on their way to maximum “super human” security. They were being arrested. A dead Sergeant General and her rogue medic wife, going to prison to be separated forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More to come soon! I'll get my shit together and keep regular updates one of these days.


	71. True Happiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> July gives a show.

Lolias sat and watched July danced for everyone. She would often laugh in embarrassment when someone made an especially lewd comment at her. Lolias wished he could focus on the dance the young woman was doing for all of them. But Lolias was so overwhelmed with happiness that he couldn’t pay attention whatsoever. The only thing he could pay attention to was the small source of warmth on his leg. 

Isamu bobbed his head to the sound of July’s music. The movement was so small, it was barely noticeable. But Lolias noticed. He couldn’t help but notice everything about the wonder that was Isamu. While Isamu put food into his mouth, Lolias watched him with pride in his great friend.

Isamu glanced back at Lolias. When they met eyes, Isamu smiled with a chuckle. He wasn’t even surprised that Lolias was watching him. Lolias smiled. It was even better to meet eyes with him than to just look at him. It took everything in Lolias to not touch him, or to beg him to pinch him, or to hold him as close as he could. 

Isamu had come back. Come back to the barn. Come back to Lolias. Come back to all of them! He had chosen all of them over Kieren. It was as though it was a dream. Lolias hoped he would never wake up. 

When Isamu had returned, he was solemn and quiet. He had told Lolias that he was in dire need to talk to him. But once with the others in the barn, it was as though Isamu’s happiness was completely renewed and full. He knew everyone was helping Isamu be more happy with himself.

Lolias reached out to brush Isamu’s hair out of his eyes. “Isamu, I--”

The others hollered at July. Instead of laughing nervously, she made a face to entice them to only yell more. Isamu laughed at them. Isamu’s laugh of gold only made Lolias look at him even more fondly. Whatever he wanted to tell Isamu could wait. But this moment could last forever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3


	72. Arrested

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieda makes an inmate's aquaintance.

While Ellenor was in a state of complete anguish, Frieda held onto her with all her might as the guards of the facility plus many government police officers tried to rip the woman away from her wife. Frieda kept seeing it and hearing it in her mind. Her own screams and sobbs sounded in her mind making her feel even more pathetic about the situation. It was all her fault. She shouldn’t have panicked and attacked the computer. She should have protected Ellenor. She should have feigned innocence. She could only tell herself that it was all her fault.

She could only invision Ellenor’s continuous crying as she couldn’t help but see the barn, the people, her friends in complete and utter ruin. Frieda hadn’t seen it all, having personally cut it short herself, but she could still see the blood of all the “super humans” she had ever saved painted on her hands. 

Frieda wished she could have calm down, been cooperative when it was obviously too late for her, but every moment she imagined her wife being hooked up to a machine to take any information they need from her kept her livid. She didn’t mind if Ellenor was hooked up to a machine, she would destory it the moment she saw it. It was the fact that Ellenor would unwillingly tell them of the farm that held more than two dozen, essentially, refugees. 

They would be killed without hesitation.

Frieda slammed her hand into the metal that was the door confining her to the small cell. She did it until her hand was stinging. She knew she’d never break it, but it helped her release some of her fury. On the last hit, her face fell from its angry expression, her shoulders slumped, and her legs collapsed. She rest on the floor, covering her face with her bloodied knuckles and her soft palms.

She cried quietly to herself for a few moments before she was jared from her thoughts completely by a voice.

“You really think you can bust down anything with those small hands of yours?” The deep voice seemingly taunted her. The man's rugged voice seemed to echo within her mind but she didn't hear it. 

“No… I just… was angry…” Frieda hesitated to answer since she didn't know if the man could hear her. 

“What are you in for…” His voice cut off as if he was expecting her to answer. 

“Frieda,” She answered his unasked question. “I was stupid.” She answered his actual question.

“I totally vibe with that.” He spoke like a millennial. 

Frieda started to wander the room to find the sourse of his voice. “How old are you?”

“Too old for me to tell.” She chuckled at that. “So what's your power, Frieda?”

She saw a small hole in the wall. She dropped to her knees to be eye level with it. “Is that you?” She asked peeking in. “How did they allow such a hole?”

“It was the last man that was in that room. Charming dude, but he had a personal vendetta against the President.” Frieda’s heart went cold, but she was positive it was a coincidence. “Your power, tell me.”

“I can't… I'm not sure what it is… and...” Frieda looked up into the far corner of her room. “There are cameras everywhere.”

“Well, they must not think you're that great placing you next to me. Plus all the others in this wing.” Frieda looked into the other room again, but couldn't see much. She imagined a old man shrugging.

“What does that mean?” She asked him, still trying to locate him by changing angles.

“You're not a threat to them.” He said it as though it was obvious. “They don't think you can do anything.”

“They think that because it's what I want them to think.” Frieda’s anger started to brew again.

The man chuckled. “Feisty.”

Frieda climbed up on her cot to get closer to the camera. She wrapped her hands around it as best she could standing on her tiptoes to reach it. The glass shattered right after Frieda felt the mechanical box heat up.

She then heard an echo of the shattering.

“What are you doing!?” She heard the man.

“... It's my power… I can destroy machines…. I think? The camera in my room must be connected to yours.”

“They're all connected! You probably just broke it all…” The man sounded overwhelmed with excitement. “Frieda, do you know what this means?” He paused as she tried to piece it together. “You can take down the entire security system single-handedly!”

Frieda gasped to herself. She ran to the other side of the room. She put her hands on her door where the lock slid to keep her in.

“Hurry!” He encouraged her. “The guards are probably already on their way.” The door got hot as Frieda could _feel_ the lock clicking out of place. Sirens started wailing the moment her door opened. She quickly ran out of the cell. She turned to the box that held a keypad next to her door. She placed her hands around it. When it exploded, the sirens stopped, but an echo of clicks of every lock in the entire facility opening was even more deafening.

_Hold on, Ellenor. I'm coming._


	73. Riot!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieda sees things.

When Frieda thought of “super humans” she thought of beauty, evolution, and humanity. The scene before her reflected nothing of her idea of “super humans.” 

When she first opened all the cells, there was this moment of silence… no… hesitation. The air grew thin as it seemed everyone waited to see if it was real or not. Then, to see who would make the first move. 

It was Frieda’s thundering footsteps, the sound of her sprinting the only sound in the whole building, that triggered the rest of the facility to jump into action. There was a massive yell first that was quickly joined by many others. The final yell was a piercing scream that sent Frieda into near madness. Her footsteps were quickly covered by others.

As she was running down the narrow path, she was knocked down by someone fleeing their cell.

It was a massive woman, probably three feet taller than Frieda, with massive slits down her throat, a flattened nose, and the sharpest teeth. The woman growled as she lowered her face closer to Frieda's. Their noses brushed and Frieda felt a disgusting texture on her skin. Frieda tried to turn her head to get away, but that seemed to only entice the woman more. Her sharp teeth turned to a massive grin

But the horrifying “super human” was thrown off as fast as she threw herself on. Frieda sat up quickly on the ground to see the massive woman pinned against the wall just above the door to her cell by two enormous appendages. She struggled against it as though she was choking. 

Frieda tried to scramble away from the scene, but she banged her head into the railing on the edge of the pathway. She nervously looked down the railing. To her horror, she was four floors up. She saw someone be pushed from one of the floors down. She turned away, only hearing the thud.

Frieda continued running, seeing more and more “super humans” attacking each other. But the most terrifying moments were when she saw a “super human” attacking a guard. Teeth were being ripped out, skulls were being crushed, and eyes were being crushed in.

Frieda had to cover her mouth not to vomit all over the floor. She kept running, trying to avoid everyone and everything that might attack her.

Once deep inside the facility, the sound of the screams of other quieted down to a distant echo. Frieda started to get a haunting feeling that Ellenor may not be in the same holding facility at all. Or that she wasn't arrested at all. Or that she had been killed by another inmate the moment they discovered the most decorated general on the wrong side of the war.

She stopped her running to make the deep wing even more quiet. She started to succumb to the crippling anxiety of not finding Ellenor when she heard quiet gentle sobs. 

Frieda almost cried out Ellenor’s name, but fear of the other “super humans” kept her quiet as she hurried to the sound. She burst into the cell, the door slamming into the wall. She wanted to jump towards the body in the cell, but it coward into the corner away from her.

“ … Ellenor?” Frieda called out quietly. She looked up from her place in the corner.

“Frieda?” Her voice was struck with a tone of defeat and depression. Ellenor’s hair parted from her face. It was the first time Frieda had ever seen the woman without a tight french braid done to her hair. 

Frieda rushed forward to hold her. Frieda wrapped her arms around her body and grabbed her tightly.

A shout of pain was released from Ellenor’s trembling lips. Frieda backed away immediately.

“What’s wrong?” Frieda asked, looking her curled body up and down. She didn’t have to look far before seeing Ellenor’s legs patched with varying shades of yellow that were turning purple. The strange angle her knees went horrified Frieda.

“They beat me…” Ellenor told her quietly. “I thought I was going to die…” Ellenor brushed her hair out of her face. Frieda gasped at the gruesome cuts near the corners of each of her eyes. “They told me they would blind me if I didn’t show them again.. but… I couldn’t!” Ellenor cried out as her words turned to sobs. “I couldn’t see them die again… I can’t take this!” 

Frieda brought her hand to her shoulder. “You can’t control it… they shouldn’t have forced you to do anything.” 

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry they’re going to die.” Ellenor started to cry again.

“No,” Frieda assured. “We’re going to get out of here, we’ll save everyone.” Ellenor’s face relaxed. She went limp in Frieda’s arms. “Ellenor?” Frieda shook her slightly. She fell onto her shoulder. “Ellenor!”

“Frieda,” She heard the voice of a burly man. She turned around to see a massive man at the door of the cell. Many other men stood around and behind him. “You really thought you’d be getting outta here without me?” He spoke, but his lips barely moved. He sounded like a millenial. “I brought a couple of goons to help.” She could hear him right in her ear.

“It’s you!” Frieda realized it was the man from the cell next to hers.

“The name’s Cardon. You never asked.” The man looked down at his nails as if being bored and more worried about himself. 

“Cardon… I’m sorry, but I need to go to the infirmary right now! My wife… something’s wrong… I think she might have lost blood.”

“Hey, Liza,” Cardon called into the hallway. A man with arms the size of Frieda’s torso and a beard the length of Ellenor’s hair stepped forward. “Pick up the cold one.” The man, Liza, came in with pounding steps. Frieda tried to lift Ellenor gently into his arms, but she wasn’t strong enough to carry the dead weight.

When Ellenor was out of the corner, Frieda could see the pool of blood on the floor. Frieda cringed and had to turn away from the blood. She moved into the middle of all the tall men as they walked with no interruption through the prison facility.

As Frieda walked next to Cardon in a sort of human barricade, she spoke to him. “So are you guys… like a gang?” Cardon let out a hardy laugh.

“Yeah, sort of…” Cardon laughed again. “A gang of drag queens.” 

“Drag queens?!” Frieda shouted full of surprise. 

Cardon continued to laugh. “Yep. I’ve been doing drag since I was…” He laughed for a moment. “I must have been twelve the first time I put on a wig.” He quickly put a finger in Frieda’s face. “Don’t ask when that was.” She laughed. “My entire show was drafted after they found out we were using our… gifts… as a gimmick in our show.”

“I’d pay to see that,” Frieda said with a smirk.

“People did.” Cardon sighed. “Except, one night, the wrong person did.” Frieda nodded.

“You weren’t drafted… were you, Miss Perime?” Frieda’s blood ran cold. “Don’t be afraid, I don’t mind… after all, you had to be arrested for something. Plus, breaking out of a prison? You’re not much of a true patriot are you?” Frieda couldn’t answer. Only surprised anyone knew her name when she was just a decoration at Ellenor’s side. “Not that it matters… what I am wondering though … How is your wife alive?”

“That’s a long story…” 

Frieda ran to the bed that Liza rested Ellenor in. She looked at Ellenor’s legs. They scared her with the way they were colored and bent. She glanced at Liza and back down to Ellenor’s legs. “Can…?” Frieda choked, but Liza looked down at her with compassion despite the man’s hard scowl. “Can you snap her legs into place?” Liza gave a small nod. The sound that reverberated through the infirmary had Frieda covering her mouth to hold back the vomit that teased her throat.

A splint was placed on either of Ellenor’s legs, stitches were done in her face, and a huge blanket was put around the woman. Frieda only threw up once during the whole ordeal, when she was putting stitches around Ellenor’s third eye and the damn thing opened to reveal a lifeless gray color.

Leaving the prison by the time they did was no problem, since so many people had already cleared a path of escape. There were nearly no guards protecting the area. With most dead, and others ironically locked away in cells, there was no one left to stop anyone leaving the facility.

“So, medic,” Cardon started. “Where are we headed?”

“… Vaudherland.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drag queens!!!


	74. Exploitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bea pouts.

Bea had messed up. She had messed up a lot before. However, her screw up often ended in her own favor. She had robbed many boutiques, stolen her fair share of food, and had even once burned her fingerprints off of her very hands. All of those things had ended with her benefit. She could touch whatever she pleased, she owned more things than she could carry. But… this time Bea had really messed up.

Bea had thought helping Kieren would be the right thing to do. While Kieren went on some weird self-exploration, Bea stayed with him to get him some food and keep him as sane as he could be kept. So, sitting in the bunker under a basement, she realized her mistake.

Bea was surrounded by children. She was practically be consumed by all of them. She grew angry when she saw Pete holding the others close in his arms to comfort them. She was disgusted when the children cried and disturbed any silence that might have been found.

Once upon a time, Pete and Bea had shared a room together, as equals. But now, he was supposed to be some sort of father figure to all of them as their caretaker? It was ridiculous and unfair. If Bea was down here, trapped as a child, then so should Kieren, Aki, and anyone who pretended to be her friend.

If she had only been around, she could have known what was going on and taken adult responsibility. Stupid Kieren had held her back because he was selfish. Bea could do anything, she could be the leader, she could be in charge. She was way more powerful than anyone else, and stupid Kieren had held her back from proving herself. 

It was unfair! 

Bea sat on the floor next to the ladder that lead up to the house. Bea watched with her arms crossed and a pout on her face as the breathing through the room evened out and the others fell asleep. Then, a pop sounded in the air. Bea found herself in the basement. Another pop later, she was in the kitchen. She was about to start walking, but she decided Popping would be the best method to travel if she didn’t want to get caught.

She continued Popping through the house until she was outside. She had almost gotten to the barn, only Popping four times when she was suddenly thrown to the ground.

Bea gasped as the wind that was knocked out of her came back in. Bea started to breathe heavy and fast. She could barely see what was happening, but she knew she was being held down by someone.

“Who are you!?” A voice of a man screamed at her. “Why are you here?!” Bea couldn’t help but panic. She started to thrash, trying to Pop away, but she couldn’t move at all. Then all of a sudden, tears started to run down her face. 

“Bea!” A familiar voice finally called out her name. She gasped when the weight of a man was taken off of her.

“July!” She called back to her friend.

“What are you doing out here? We’re on high alert!” July hissed through the night air to be firm yet quiet. “You’re lucky I’m out here. Sachi didn’t recognize you since you’ve been gone with Kieren.”

Bea Popped over to July to float next to her shoulder. “I needed out of that basement. They put me with all the kids!”

“Bea…” July grabbed her arm. “Those ‘kids’ are the same age as you and you know it.” Bea’s heart sank in her chest. She thought that surely July at least would be on her side. “It’s only to protect you and the others. No one else is allowed outside but us anyway. It’s not fair for you to possibly put us and everyone in danger like this!”

“But… Jenn made all the decisions without even telling anyone!” Bea was much louder than July dared to be.

“I know… Jenn… She doesn’t understand what it means to be like us… we just have to survive this and we’ll have our own lives.”

“July…”

“Bea…” She sighed. “It’s okay to be a kid.”


	75. Famous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travelling through France.

Ellenor had to be carried. Frieda would be forever grateful for the drag queens accompanying her, even though Cardon tried to act like he was blackmailing them by knowing who they were. With Liza in the group, Ellenor wouldn't have to walk whatsoever. The woman had barely woken up at all since leaving the prison.

Frieda knew that it was bad for Ellenor to be moving so much. She should be somewhere completely still so that her legs could heal properly. But Frieda also knew that the moment anyone found out about the prison break, it would be their lives on the line. Frieda and Ellenor’s arrival to the “super human” prison was in direct correlation to the outbreak. They would be after them before any others. If they were caught this time, they wouldn’t be spared.

Frieda wished she could get Ellenor’s opinion on it all, since she knew more about the ins and outs of the government reconciliation. Then again, she hoped that Ellenor would be able to talk to her at all any time soon. Anxiety that she would never wake up was growing, even though the medic in her mind told her Ellenor would be fine mentally at least.

There were whispers through the group she walked in. They walked in this sort of formation to keep the smaller people within the bigger three. Cardon, herself, and another man, Birdy, were on the inside, with Liza, and two other men, Heath, and Jonesy on the outside. Frieda decided to ignore the whispers for the time being.

The whispers continued. She glanced back towards Liza to make sure Ellenor was okay. She glanced back to Cardon. His lips were moving, but Frieda could hear nothing.

Frieda finally decided to break the growing confusion. “What’s going on?”

“Hush, I can hear you when you whisper.” Cardon didn’t even glance at her to acknowledge their conversation.

“What’s happening?” Frieda pushed with urgency in her voice. 

“People are recognizing your wife, Frieda.” The way he said it sounded like he was blaming Frieda for the people on the street. “They’re giving second glances and whispering.”

“It’s not her! We’re just… a strange group…” Frieda looked around to the massive men with ridiculously long beards.

“I can hear it, Frieda.” Cardon’s power finally clicked to Frieda. “We need to find a different way to travel.”

“Miss Perime!” Someone called out her title. She froze up as Jonesy moved out of the way to let through a girl. She was dressed in a ball cap and a raincoat. She looked like an American tourist.

Frieda glanced to Cardon in a mental panic. She had no idea what to do and was certain Cardon was overreacting to anyone recognizing Ellenor on the street. But someone was recognizing Frieda. She was the add on, the accessory to Ellenor in the public eye. How the hell could someone see her and know who she is?

“Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I’m meeting you!” The girl came forward and collected Frieda’s hands within her own. “My first time to France and I’m meeting the most famous Provencal medic!?” The girl’s loud outburst was catching the attention of others. “Gosh, I can’t wait to turn eighteen so I can join the army like you!”

Frieda’s heart started to hurt. Her reputation was all wrong. She hated the army, being a medic made her puke and cry. She grabbed the girl. She implored the girl, “Don’t.” 

“They’re coming.” The entire group turned around to look back to Liza holding Ellenor. Ellenor was limp in his arms, but her third eye was wide open with vibrant colors. “They’re coming.” Ellenor seemed to be humbling to herself, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear. “We’ll be killed.”

“The police have been called!” Cardon shouted. He looked at the girl that was holding onto Frieda. He shoved her with all his might, knocking her to the asphalt and away from Frieda. “What have you done?!”

“It wasn’t me, please, Miss Perime!” The girl looked up to her with pleading eyes.

“We have to get out of here!” Cardon rushed them. He made a strange motion to the other men and they took off running. Frieda had no choice but to leave the girl on the ground.


	76. Importance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quest for Jenn

Kieren called out Jenn’s name. He had been searching the house for her for half an hour, While the house was pretty big, it didn’t take someone very long to move through the entire place. It was only when Kieren went into the kitchen that he saw her dirty blonde colored hair disappearing into the basement. He called out her name, but no recognition of the name was acknowledged.

He quickly followed her down the stairs. He tried to make his presence known with his footing, but no one seemed to even notice. Approaching the bottom, he saw Bea pouting with her oversized head bowed. She had her arms crossed. While her body language displayed shame and regret, her expression was complete anger. 

Jenn stood with her hands on her hips, looking down at the poor girl. Next to her, Eryk relaxed sitting halfway on his desk on top of papers. He looked down at his feet, past his crossed arms. On the other side of the desk, Pete stood, leaning over his hands that seemed to be keeping his torso up.

Kieren moved to retreat back upstairs, but a massive creak reverberated through the basement. Everyone’s eyes were on him. 

He watched as Bea’s anger went from pouring to unadulterated rage as they met eyes. His eyes widened as the girl he considered one of his true friends turned to show utter hatred towards him. 

“Do you need something?” Pete asked, the only one to mention him after so long of silence.

“I was going to talk with Jenn…” Kieren said slowly.

“Now's not a good time,” Jenn snapped. He saw Eryk pinch the bridge of his nose. 

“Okay…” Kieren paused, looking into the room. He didn’t understand why the atmosphere was so against him. He looked around, hoping for someone to show him some kind of sympathy. When he made eye contact with Pete, he moved his mouth, but said no words. _Sorry._

“I’m sorry,” Kieren said. The sweep of relief through the room was almost dizzying. 

Jenn’s face finally softened to address him. “It’s okay.” 

Kieren promptly made his way up the stairs. He didn’t run, but he moved as fast away from the scene. Once he closed the door at the top of the stairs, he just took a moment in order to collect himself from the whiplash of changing of moods so quickly. 

He had no idea what was going on with Bea, but he immediately blamed himself. He had no other thought to how she could be in trouble other than her helping him through his well needed break from the building stress. 

Kieren made his way through the house and opened the porch screen door. July and Sachi quickly turned towards him at the noise.

“Hey, do you know what’s up with Bea?” Kieren asked, mainly towards July. He gestured his finger in towards the house. “I feel bad about it.”

July raised an eyebrow. “Why would _you_ feel bad?” July asked, but it sounded more like a sneer. She obviously didn’t expect an answer from him. Kieren was immediately confused. Why was everyone so suddenly against him? “And how did you find out about that?” Kieren stayed quiet. He felt as though if he said anything he would be shut down on the spot. “She snuck off in the middle of night. She acted like she was going to the barn.”

“She acted like an idiot.” Kieren was taken aback when the other quiet man spoke out. “Everyone has a responsibility to keep the others safe by staying inside. Going outside puts everyone in danger.” Sachi slowly looked up at Kieren with annoyed hooded eyes. Kieren looked back to July to get some support,but she too looked annoyed with him. “You already came out here to make the entire barn suffer with your emotional baggage. Can't you be considerate for once?”

Kieren’s throat started to bubble up. He felt his eyes become watery. 

He opened his mouth to beg Sachi for forgiveness, but July opened her mouth. “Don't use your powers on him, Sachi.” July sighed. “That makes us what they think we are.” Kieren’s body flooded with relief. Instantly the need to cry was gone. But some guilt lingered, no matter how inconsequential.

Kieren went inside, making sure the screen door shut properly.

Once inside, he covered his face with both hands and slowly wiped them down to his shoulders. _Why would_ you _feel bad?_ Kieren released a hard breath as he pulled his hair back from his hairline. _Can’t you be considerate for once?_ Kieren dug his nails into the back of his neck. _Make the entire barn suffer with your emotional baggage._

“Kieren.” He jumped at Jenn saying his name. “Was there something you needed to talk about?” Kieren looked Jenn into her aging eyes. With Pete now away from them all, they were actually aging. She looked as though she had only slept twenty minutes the night before.

“It’s not important. You have better things to worry about, I’m sure.” Jenn started to interrupt to change his words. “Get some rest. You deserve it.”


	77. Considerate Gossip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gossiping in the middle of the night? Sounds fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crude language, beware.

Lolias sat against the barn wall, like he always did when he was going to sleep. Only tonight, he had no intention of sleeping. 

While Isamu was cuddled up close to his ankle, July was on his shoulder. He was surprised she fit there, since he wasn’t as big as people made him out to be. But, since the woman was especially petite, she could fit sitting on his shoulder. She too leaned up against the barn wall. 

Lolias wished that Isamu was just a little closer so he could pet at his floofy undercut while he rested. But, he was completely content with just sending the sleeping body the fondest looks.

July went ahead and joined his onward look to the older Japanese man. She knew Lolias’s eyes were always trained on him in a soft manner. They had been for nearly a month now. 

When Pete had gossiped that Ismau had fallen asleep on Lolias, July was worried about Kieren. However, Kieren’s selfishness was becoming more apparent to anyone who could see the situation from the outside. It angered July that Kieren felt no remorse, and she could feel that lack of it. 

“He came outside today,” July started, not having to specify when with Lolias. 

“Again?” Lolias asked with a scoff.

“He doesn't understand the extent of the situation. He's so ignorant.”

“Arrogant,” Lolias corrected her wording. “He thinks he can wipe everything out with his power, thinks he's untouchable.” Lolias slowly crossed his arms, careful to not jostle his body to keep Isamu at peace.

“Jenn acts like that too, you know. Acts like he's some secret weapon.” July’s nose curled at the thought of the woman.

“Bullets can fly through fire just fine,” Lolias said with apathy.

“He's so stupid. He should have froze out there being an idiot with Bea. Do you know what she did?” July relayed back to Lolias what Be a had done the mere night before.

“They're such children,” Lolias replied once she was finished. 

“And then Kieren tried to make it about himself!” July’s voice was drenched with anger, but the emotion was mixed with frustration.

“Shh,” Lolias calmed her. He watched as Isamu stirred but quickly relaxed against Lolias’s leg again. “That's just who he is.”

“I'm just glad he's staying inside, you know? So we don't have to deal with him.” July sighed in relief as she pouted slightly. 

“I'm glad Isamu came to his senses.” He smiled down at the sleeping body once more.

“You think you two will get together?” July asked with a tease to her voice.

“I don't know. I don't want to ruin anything like I have before. I feel like we really have something.” He moved to reach his hand out to Isamu, even though he knew he couldn't touch him.

“You know what I heard?” July said slowly. It was her gossip voice that she had most likely picked up from Pete. “Kieren’s a virgin.” Lolias’s mind went blank. “I can't believe they never had sex. You know they lived together, shared a bed and everything.”

“For nearly two years,” Lolias added on. He scoffed in disbelief. “Isamu told me that he was his only real relationship. Said he was too busy in school to meet anyone.”

“You don't think…”

“I think Isamu is a virgin too.”

July laughed slightly. “Oh my gosh, I'm sorry.” She continued to laugh, trying to get a hold of herself. “I'm sorry, but aren't they both older than us?”

“Come on, don't make fun of them. Not everyone is the hottest gymnast in the entire Caribbean.” July snorted at that. While July made more jokes, Lolias stared down at Isamu. He was sure the older man felt those urges, but his all too kind and considerate way of being might have prevented him from asking for anything more than what was offered. Along with Kieren’s sociopathic tendencies, it was an equation for getting cock-blocked. 

Lolias tried to reach him again. He'd have to teach Isamu to be more selfish one day.


	78. Technicalities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieda washes Ellenor

Frieda sat on the cold tile floor. She could feel her butt and thighs getting wet from the water scattered across the floor, but she remained. She grabbed the bucket she had filled with warm soapy water and placed it in front of her, next to Ellenor's unconscious body.

Frieda's ragtag group of drag queens was settling down for the night at a camp grounds they had luckily ran into. Everyone had taken the opportunity to use the outdoor showers that were provided to those staying there. 

Everyone except for Ellenor.

By this time, Ellenor was approaching a level ten coma. With her third eye opening spontaneously, uttering confusing words, and only reacting to pain caused by her third eye, she was officially in a coma for almost a week.

Frieda collected a sponge from out of the bucket. She watched the droplets of water as they fell from her sponge and into the bucket. She felt frail as she tried to squeeze it harder to completely empty it. 

She moved in closer to Ellenor. She looked at the tattered skin and couldn't see the mind she had fallen in love with. The third eye was the only responsive part of Ellenor as of yet. Frieda didn't even consider it a part of Ellenor. It was a monster that made her into some kind of disgraced war hero.

Fear and anxiety consumed her mind. Frieda didn’t know if Ellenor would ever be the same again. While her medic side of her brain told her that she would eventually wake up, the other side that was in love was in a panic mode thinking she would never speak to her again. 

She scrubbed gently at the soot that had collected on Ellenor’s meek arms. The woman was incredibly fit and emphasized that whenever she was compelled to save another life, picking them up and taking them to safety. It was so upsetting to see her deflated and defeated like she was now.

Frieda moved to start bandaging Ellenor’s legs. It was the only item of coverage that was left on her. She tried to moved slowly and carefully, but it was hard to when she had to pull so vigorously to put her lover’s leg above the ground. She heard a gasp.

Frieda quickly looked up to Ellenor’s face. That damn eye was open again. Frieda squinted at it with such hate that she could never express in words. It moved all over, but it never landed on any particular thing. It definitely wasn’t seeing anything, but it was moving enough to be considered responsive. The irritating technicalities of the medical world upset Frieda to no end, since she knew Ellenor was not herself.

Images started flashing on the eye. Instantly, it made Frieda uncomfortable, since it was going much slower than it normally did. It showed Liza and Heath speaking to each other. Then it showed Jonesy standing out by the lake fishing. Next, it showed Cardon standing guard just outside the showering building. These images together only lead Frieda to believe they were the present.

The final image was what confirmed her theory.

It was a mirror of herself sitting in front of Ellenor. She slowly waved her hand in front of her face, seeing the hand pass over the eye on exact time. She stared into the eye and it seemingly stared back with her own gaze. 

She reached out and cupped Ellenor's face in her hand. The eye softened in response.

Frieda could feel it. It was comforted by her, it might have even been… happy with her.

Frieda knew Ellenor had no control of the eye. She felt like it was not even remotely a part of Ellenor. She knew it wasn't. But that moment, she could feel the soft warm feeling that the eye felt and felt as it felt.

Frieda leaned forward gently, hesitantly, and placed a small kiss above the eye on the remainder of Ellenor's forehead. With that, the eye fluttered closed and Frieda felt alone again. She smiled slightly at that damn thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That damn eye. That Damn Thing. That Damn Thing.


	79. Temptation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren falls into temptation.

Kieren sat alone in his once shared bed with Isamu. It was a deep dark void outside, but the moon shined brighter than it had all summer. He stared out the window. Stared at the barn. Stared through the walls. He knew Isamu was in there. Everyone around seemed to have something against him, but he knew Isamu would never treat him with that kind of cold distant attitude. Isamu would probably never treat anyone that way. He was such a kind soul.

As he stood, he pulled a blanket firmly around himself. He approached the window and stared out. Isamu was probably thinking of him. He had to be upset that they were apart again. Even though it was his own fault again. He placed his hand on the window. It fogged up upon his warm touch. He acted as though he was reaching out to touch the older man once more.

Impulse took Kieren’s body over, dropping the blanket completely and sliding the window upward to click to where it would stay open. He moved to stick his leg out, but the brisk winter air made him come back to his senses. He knew it was a risk. He knew they were specifically told not to, but he had to go outside. He had to be with Isamu again. He needed to feel a shred of kindness again.

Kieren jumped out the window. He held his breath as he tried to slow his fall with his inner fire. It propelled him enough to not break his foot as he landed on the cold grass. The grass had become rigid and yellow as Tadaaki was tasked with making the barn look as vacant as possible. Ivy grew up the sides of the house and stuck to some of the windows.

Kieren shivered slightly, but kept a small fire in his hands to keep him from losing his fingers to the frost. He tiptoes through the grass, wincing at the frozen mildew that clung to his toes. Through the open air, he could hear heavy snoring. He looked towards the porch where July and Sachi were both asleep on their respective rocking chairs. They were supposed to be the lookouts and Kieren had chosen the perfect night not to get caught.

Approaching the barn, Kieren started to walk slower. He scanned the inside from the small window on the side door. He searched for Isamu before entering so he could b-line for him and not wake anyone else. Once he spotted him, he frowned.

He entered the barn, barely swinging the door so it wouldn’t creak. He tiptoed towards the giant foot that Isamu was leaned back against. Kieren jumped as a loud noise sounded in the barn. He swiveled around fast in fighting position only to see Aki with her mouth wide open, snoring. Kieren immediately relaxed.

His hand reached out to Isamu and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. He saw Isamu’s eye scrunch up and move under his eyelid.

“Lolias?” The half sleeping man called out in confusion.

“Hey, no, it’s me,” Kieren replied, looking happily down at the sweet man.

In an instant, Isamu was awake. He scrambled into an upright position. “Kieren!?”

“Hey, sh, sh…” Kieren comforted. He rubbed his hand on Isamu’s shoulder and gently worked it up his neck to cup his jaw, just as Isamu had done to him before. “It’s alright, just me… “ Kieren smirked. “I missed you.” Isamu’s expression looked so shocked that he had nothing to say. Kieren thought it was cute. “Can we talk?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Isamu shook his head. He slowly sat up to a proper angle. Before looking into Kieren’s eyes, he glanced up at the giant that sat up against the barn wall. He looked very nervous, and Kieren was flattered that he was getting flustered around him. “What’s going on?”

“Everyone is acting really weird around me,” Kieren explained to him. Isamu said nothing, only stared at him. Kieren made the most pathetic face he could. “I don’t know what I did wrong.”

“I’m sure you didn’t do anything…” Isamu replied. Kieren heaved a sigh of relief.

“I knew you’d understand.” Kieren leaned forward to steal a kiss from Isamu, but the man moved away. Kieren frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Kieren…” Isamu started. He looked distraught as he brought his arm around to hug himself. He glanced up to the giant one last time before turning back to Kieren with a new found confidence. “I’m hurting.”

“So am I.” Kieren smiled, gesturing towards himself.

He air that Isamu released was one of sadness. He turned away, showing Kieren only the side of his face that hadn’t been scarred by an explosion. “You don’t understand.” Kieren raised an eyebrow. The sad disappointed tone of self-doubt. “You hurt me.” 

Kieren raised an eyebrow and cocked his head. “When?”

Isamu’s frown only intensified. “You left me…”

“You left me too.” 

“I had to! This was different.” Isamu’s voice was firm and defined but he still didn’t look at Kieren. “You left me alone with no other option. Do you have any idea how that made me feel?”

“I’m telling you, I’ve been through the same thing!” Kieren tried to appeal. He was using his voice to emphasize and be imploring Isamu to understand.

“Please,” Isamu said. Kieren brought his eyebrows together. “Just… listen to me for once.” Kieren frowned even harder. “I had to leave you to protect you. I had to go into the war, you think I wanted to?” Ismau’s voice sounded truly hurt and on the verge of tears. “I thought I had changed, that you didn’t like me anymore because of…” Isamu gestured towards the side of himself that was forever scarred. “This! Don’t you understand?”

“I didn’t leave you because of that! I would never leave you because of how you look. I love you!” Kieren reached and grabbed Isamu’s only hand in both of his own. “You’re beautiful.”

The stars once again shined, only for Isamu’s eye. “You mean that?”

“Of course I do.” Kieren slowly planted a kiss on the back of Isamu’s hand. He looked up to see a magnificent red color blossom on his cheeks. “I always have.”

“I’m sorry, Kieren, I just…” Isamu turned away, still blushing. “I just thought you wouldn’t be into someone that lost more than an arm. I feel like I’ve lost my mind… Then Lolias…” Isamu again looked up to the giant, giving Kieren a good look at the damaged side of his face. “He’s such the hedonist.”

“You can say that again,” Kieren said. He too looked up to the giant. He didn’t feel the same as he did when he had looked at him before they had fought. He upturned his lip to the giant, but quickly dropped the expression when Isamu looked back.

“I hope he changes his mind… about you… I’d love to see you two together.” Isamu smiled as he went off into a daydream.

“Him and I together?” Kieren laughed a little. “I was hoping all of us could be together.” 

Isamu’s face became confused. “What?”

“I thought I got that across…” Kieren hesitated.

“You want to be polyamorous… with him and _me_?” Isamu sounded utterly shocked.

“Of course!” Kieren said. He wasn’t sure if that same want still stood since Lolias was so uninterested in understanding his distance away from them.

“Well that’s great! I’m sure I can get him to change his mind!” Isamu gave a sweet nod.

“You will?” Kieren asked, squinting his eyes.  
“Well, yeah,” Isamu smiled. “We’ve been getting really close, I think he’d listen to me.”

“So, you’re staying out here?”

Isamu frowned and hesitated. “Of course I am…” Isamu acted as though it was obvious.

“You don’t want to come inside with me?” Kieren pouted slightly in hopes of gaining Isamu’s pity.

“No, no, I’d love to come inside with you, but I’d never leave Lolias behind.” Isamu looked up to the giant again. “I know he wouldn't do that to me.” Isamu looked as though he was reminiscing on something, but Kieren didn’t know on what. He scrunched his nose once again at the giant that was so selfish and arrogant. “You better head inside, Kieren. I don’t want you to get caught.”

“Okay,” Kieren stood. He considered trying to kiss Isamu again, but he didn’t actually want to, only wanted to claim his territory out of jealousy of Lolias. He walked out.

He moved to very gently closed the door and slip out. As he did, he looked back at Isamu who had fallen back into his position against the giant foot. Kieren smiled as he left, but then he made the mistake of looking back in the small window of door back into the barn.

He saw Lolias with his eyes wide open looking down at Isamu. He acted as though he was reaching out to touch him. With a horribly sad worried face plastered on his face.


	80. Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home.

Frieda could only smile as she walked in the front of the group. Through the forest, it was safer, so that they could break their formation that was only to intimidate people to keep them safe. But with no one around within La Vallée Verte’s forest, there was no one to protect themselves from. Since Frieda’s interaction with the eye, she had a new found confidence and hope with the mission towards Vaudherland. She walked with her chin high in the air towards the west of the forest, following the setting sun. 

She heard whispering behind her. She knew that that it was Cardon’s prefered method of communication to avoid attention out on the street, but she didn’t understand why he would continue that way while they were all alone. She was sure that it was just the way that they all had gotten used to because of their time imprisoned. 

Her eyes lit up when she swore she saw the color blue through the treeline. She almost took off running towards it in pure ecstasy when two sounds rang to stop her.

“Frieda,” She heard her name inside her ears. The second sound, broken by the cold winter breeze, still reached her. The sound of a blade being unsheathed. Frieda stood completely still for a moment. She was absolutely horrified, but she wasn’t sure whether to face the drag queens, or sprint for those at the commune. It was the fear of not knowing if a knife was pulled on her or her wife that made her remain within the boundaries of the forest.

She slowly turned around to see Ellenor on the ground that was covered in dead leaves. Her hair was pulled up in messy strands into Heath’s massive hand. Her body was limp and pathetic, but her neck was stretched tight by the pulling of her hair. In Heath’s other hand was holding a fancy blade that had no handle to hold onto. Frieda couldn’t see any blood dripping from the man’s hands, but she bet those hands were more calloused than Ellenor’s neck, which the blade was menacingly close to.

Frieda’s mind went so blank with dread that she couldn’t look anywhere but Ellenor’s neck. Her neck was moving in such a way that was apparent to Frieda that she was struggling to breathe. Frieda watched as the blade pushed in slightly against her fragile neck. She watched as a small stripe of blood found its way across her neck.

Frieda fell to her knees. The leaves crunched under her. She thought she had made it. She thought she had escaped. She thought it was over the moment she had open every cell door. She had made it. She could see the commune. She had made it to Vaudherland.

“You knew it would come to this, medic.” Frieda’s title would forever come back to haunt her. She looked up to Cardon from on her knees. By looking at him she realized that tears running down her face. The brisk wind caught her warm tears and turned them to ice water on her face. “You’re lucky you got mixed in with us and not someone else who wouldn’t be as kind to you.” Cardon raised his arms up in a shrug. “In a world full of war and hate, there’s the people who are tricked, and the people who survive.”

Frieda’s eyes flickered back to Ellenor. The third eye had opened and tears were flowing out of it from either side. “Don’t hurt her!” Frieda shouted reaching her hand out. Her voice was broken and pathetic. She started to hyperventilate as her hands began to tremble.

“Hush, hush,” Cardon said mockingly. “You know I don’t like it loud.” He crouched down to his haunches next to Ellenor. “We’d never hurt the most decorated woman in the entire world.” Frieda could only stare. Her mind was too far gone to even think of a strategy to get away from the drag queens but protect Ellenor too. Being in the middle of the forest provided no leverage to Frieda with her power, and she had no knowledge of the others’ powers. 

“Aren’t you going to ask what we want? What we plan? Isn’t this a cliche you’ve already been a part of?” Cardon shook his head. “We know you two must have been paid a lot of money for saving the president.” Cardon looked down at his nails as if he was bored of the conversation.

Frieda’s face went sour. Her teeth pushed themselves so far together that it hurt. “You’d kill her for _money_?” Frieda gritted out. “You’re pathetic.”

“Your wife is about to be even more pathetic than she already is if you don’t give me her bank account information.” Frieda was quiet. She dropped her head completely, hanging it low and defeated before she finally nodded.

“Okay…” She looked towards the west treeline. “The house is right there. Everything you need is there. Come with me and I’ll give you what you want.” It was silent for a moment, but Frieda had an irking feeling that Cardon was speaking to them all.

“Just me and you, medic,” Cardon said, grabbing her arm. He roughly pulled her to her feet, but it made her fall onto her face on the freezing ground. She groaned. “No funny business!” He grabbed her bicep even harder this time, dragging her on the ground slightly before she stumbled onto her feet. She stood, so close to the treeline, so close to freedom. Cardon pushed her, she stumbled more. “Walk!”

Frieda walked slowly with Cardon close at her back. She walked with her head lowered and ashamed. She had no idea what to do to get away from this. She had to comply for whatever time she may have.

“Frieda!” She heard a gentle sweet voice call to her. She looked up.

“Hi, Frieda!” Another voice said her name. She saw two figures running towards her waving to her. She then saw more people file out onto the back porch as the others ran through the field to reach her. Frieda wished she could smile back at them.

“Frieda, do you remember me?” The young girl with the button nose asked when the two got to her. “You and the general came to our infirmary when I had burnt my leg!”

“I know you remember me!” The boy of the two said. “It’s me, Sachi! Ellenor saved us from officer Lee that night in the bunker.”

Frieda grabbed the hands of the boy. “I’d never forget either of you.” Frieda gave a tiny nod. “But now is not the time for reunions. I must speak with Jenn and Eryk.” She looked towards the porch.

Cardon shoved his fist into her back. She turned around to see him smiling happily at her. “Let us talk with them.” Cardon gave her another shove. He urged her towards the porch. By the time they reached it, no one was smiling anymore. They all seemed to have caught onto the menace of the bearded man. Everyone stepped away from the door, except for Jenn and Eryk.

Frieda looked at them and they looked back at her. While Eryk looked absolutely horrified, Jenn looked as though she was ready to tear someone’s head off. Frieda knew she looked utterly pitiful to the others. Cardon didn’t let her stare for long before she shoved her again.

“Hello,” He said with a falsely sweet attitude. “Wow, Frieda, you sure have made a lot of friends!” Frieda bowed her head. “Hopefully you won’t lose as many friends as you’ve lost wives.” Eryk’s eyes visibly widened and Jenn squinted her eyes at him.

“Where do you keep the bank files, Eryk?” Frieda asked him. He looked so petrified that he couldn’t even speak.

“The basement,” Jenn had to answer for her.

“Lead the way,” Cardon said with a peppy tone. Jenn and Eryk did just that. Frieda and Cardon followed on their heels.

They all made their way down the stairs, Jenn at the front of all of them. Then, a thought clicked in Frieda’s brain. Cardon had asked for Ellenor’s bank account. But Ellenor was dead and had been for some time. Any money that the women were being provided rested in Frieda’s bank account to avoid suspicion of paying a dead woman. Frieda wouldn’t be giving the drag queens _anything_. 

Frieda told Jenn, “Ellenor’s bank information, that’s what he wants,” so that she knew what to look for.

“Oh, come on, Frieda,” Cardon chided. “Don’t deny her of her well earned title. I want the bank information of the most decorated general in the entire Provencal army. The martyr for the president! The secret precognitive weapon of the Provencal army!”

Jenn gave only one second glance to Frieda, but didn’t say anything, only went to look for what she had asked for.

As Cardon and Frieda ventured towards Jenn and the filing cabinet, they didn’t notice Eryk move behind them towards the stairs. They both looked back when they heard the slam of the door at the top of the stairs. Eryk had his arm stretched upwards towards it.

A loud yell came from Jenn before she pounced onto Cardon, knocking him to the ground.

“Jenn, no!” Frieda was then pulled across the floor before stopping in Eryk’s arms. She watched as Jenn slammed her fist into the jaw of the man on the ground. “Stop, stop, stop!”  
She tried to shove away from Eryk. “They have Ellenor, please! Don’t hurt him…” Jenn slowly looked up.

“She’s alive?”

“Not for long if I don’t get the money!” Cardon snarled. He shoved Jenn off of himself. “Now, you freaks!” His voice screeched in all of their ears, making them all cringe. Eryk ran to the desk. He opened the very middle drawer. Cardon marched over to him to look over his shoulder. He didn’t have to wait long before a paper was shoved into his hands.

“Now, me and Miss Perime are going to leave without anymore interruptions, understood?” Cardon smiled even though his voice was incredibly angry.

“Please,” Frieda begged them. She was then smacked on the back of the head. She lurched forward pathetically. She became incredibly dizzy in just a moment. She was so weak. 

“Understood.” Jenn said firmly.

“Understood.” Eryk said nervously.

Cardon and Frieda were escorted out by the other two. Everyone stared, but no one spoke a word. Once on the porch, Cardon commanded them to stay while he grabbed onto Frieda’s arms, aggressively pulling on her. 

Through the field, she stumbled and tripped because of Cardon’s shoving. She thought surely it would be over now that she had given him what he asked for. But as soon as they arrived back to where the other drag queens were holding Ellenor, Frieda was pushed head first into the cold ground.

“What happened?” She heard from Liza.

“One of her friends attacked me,” Cardon informed them. He then dug the heel of his shoe into Frieda’s spine between her shoulder blades. “I say we return the favor.” 

The feeling of fists and feet started to blend together to where Frieda couldn't tell the difference between the two. She didn’t even want to cry because she knew it would only be more numbing to have them ignore her. She curled in on herself naturally to protect herself, even though her lip had already been busted and her glasses were far gone. 

She looked up to try and see Ellenor. She had to make sure she was safe. The line around her neck had already scabbed. She released a breath. She was still okay. The third eye opened. It took one look at her before it started to cry again. She reached out, hoping that it would understand that she meant it was alright.

The drag queen gang left, heading towards the eastern horizon. Once they were out of sight, Frieda tried to sit up. She felt too weak to move. Frieda’s lip started to quiver. She was so weak, too weak. She was always too weak. 

She finally started to cry. No, wail. The sun still bordered on the horizon in the west as she hollered into the ground away from the sun. The eye looked at her and she could feel its projected worry. She tried to reach out to comfort it.

“Frieda!” She gasped. She looked up to see Isamu, Sachi, Eryk, Jenn, and a few others that Frieda didn’t recognize. 

She forced on a smile. “Hey, guys.”

“Isamu, help me,” Eryk asked the scarred man. “Wolt, Tadaaki, Sachi, can you get Ellenor?”

“Be careful,” Frieda warned. “Her legs are broken.”

“Oh my, is she dead?” Jenn covered her mouth.

“She’s alive enough. Stage ten coma.” Frieda groaned as the men touched her back where it was particularly sore.

“What the hell, Frieda?” Jenn asked, her voice cracking. She watched as Jenn went to help the other men. “What is this?” Jenn pointed to the slit across Ellenor’s forehead that had closed.

“That’s Ellenor’s third eye. It’s a long story.” Frieda smiled up at Isamu. “You look well. You’ve gained a lot of weight, you work out?” Isamu laughed. She did too.

“I work out with Lolias, yeah.” They laughed together again.

“How about you, Eryk?” He raised his eyebrows happily, but he looked still sad to see her so beat up. “You don’t look a day over thirty.”

He released a strangled laugh. “Pete keeps us young.” He nodded to Isamu.

“What a good man. He’d make a good King.” Frieda sighed and closed her eyes. “I’m so tired… Sorry about all that earlier, you guys. I can’t imagine how much adrenaline everyone has right about now.”

“Don’t you dare go apologizing,” Jenn scolded. “I know it was all to protect Ellenor. Since when were you two married?”

“Another long story…” Frieda smiled. “Stories we can tell on the long drive we’re going to have to make.”

“What?” Jenn came up close to see her. “What does that mean?”

“We have to leave. Tonight preferably.” Frieda told Eryk to adjust his hand to hold her more gently. His body was too rigid from nerves to be delicate with her. “People are already finding out Ellenor is alive, not to mention they’ll be coming here to look for us. … Another long story.”

“We can’t leave… “ Jenn scoffed and looked around. “There’s too many people… I mean, how could we get Lolias out of here?”

“We should figure that out after I patch Ellenor up…” She tried to glance back to Ellenor. “I don’t know what they could have done to her while I was away.” Frieda sighed.

“One day, she won’t be in danger every day and we can just lay together on the beach for once. Is it sad the only relaxed intimate moments we’ve had together were sitting on a soap box?” Frieda chuckled. “It was the good old times when we had to hide our relationship, not our entire lives.” Frieda smiled. “I loved running out of her cot in the morning to get away from getting caught by our general.”

“How romantic!” Sachi swooned. Frieda could feel the giddiness in his voice. 

“I love your sweet romance, Frieda, but shouldn’t we plan out this whole leaving tonight?”


	81. Thieves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A heist!

The people that the farm’s population consisted of could be considered “good people.” However, each of them had come from their fair share of different backgrounds. From discharged military operatives to homeless children, everyone was different. But for some reason, everyone had the dexterity of a skilled thief. 

Bea was naturally one of the best thieves, due to her power. Maybe alone, she wasn’t as great at stealing as it seemed, but with her power, she had the ability to make no noise walking or bumping things. She had stayed living by stealing after he mother had abandoned her. While she may have stolen a few extra material things, she still had to because of her situation.

Kieren was next in line when it came to thievery. He was the most homeless out of any of them. People would occasionally get too close to the rugged house that he called home, and when they did, they were easily ambushed and mugged. While Kieren wasn’t by any means subtle, he was skilled enough to get by, no matter how skinny he might have been.

July wasn’t once for being a rule breaker, but when they started to turn against her, she had no problem breaking them. The humans in the army were served beautiful plump rolls, oatmeal, and the occassional potato, while the “super humans” were left with some kind of gray mystery substance. July had quickly gotten sticky fingers, stealing not only rolls and potatoes for the other supers, but any item that looked like it was worth more than nothing.

It was time for a band of thieves to work together on a mission.

Frieda looked at her options that were now sitting in the kitchen. All three of them were so much younger than her. She figured Eryk with his pulling power would make for a great hiest, or Jenn with her infrared sight. But instead, she had a disappearing sheep, a ticking time bomb, and an emotional mess. 

Frieda wanted more than anything to stay in the house, in hopes that she could see Ellenor wake up, but she knew it was in her best interest to go with her own power: technological manipulation. While she had only ever destoryed a few small things, she had overrode an entire security system.

“What’s the plan?” July was the one to break the silence that had developed between all of them.

Frieda smiled slightly at the girl’s bold attitude. “We have to take care of a _big_ dent in the game plan. You see, your buddy out there,” Frieda gestured to the barn. “Is kind of hard to conceal. We need to get on the road as soon as possible to get as far away from here as possible.” July raised a confused eyebrow. “Not only him, but there is a ridiculous amount of people here. Not all of you can exactly fit in Jenn’s minivan.”

“A semi truck,” Kieren spoke up, wonder lit up in his eyes. “We’re stealing a semi truck!” The young man was all to excited. “This is just like in Joy Ride!”

“A semitruck isn’t enough,” July shook her head. “Lolias will take up the entire thing. We need more cars.”

“Yes,” Frieda confirmed. “Each of you is going to be taking a different car. The bigger the better. We need to fit as many people inside the cab as we can. We don’t want anyone sight.”

“Is three cars enough?” July questioned. “There’s over thirty people here… plus you and Ellenor.” 

“But we have Jenn’s minnivan too,” Kieren elaborated. “That’s four.”

“Plus we could get Danny’s truck up and running,” Bea suggested.

“For the time being,” Frieda jumped in. “We’re going to be getting three cars and a semitruck. We’ll have to come back here and get more people who will then have to be taken to get more cars until everyone is gone.”

July nodded to agree. Kieren frowned slightly. Bea seemed to be thinking something.

“What if I’m too short to drive?” She asked.

 

Frieda walked into the convience store holding Bea’s hand as if she was her own child. The girl’s hands were the slightest bit furry with white hair. Bea wore a massive jacket with the hood up to hide her abnormal head, face, and ears.

Frieda was looking around the store for something to buy. She questioned what would be the most benefical and not suspicious. Then again, she figured if she was disabling alarm systems, she might as well go all out.

Frieda went to the section of the small store that provided car nessessities. She placed one massive bottle of oil into Bea’s arms. She then placed two in her own arms and as many hanging from her fingers as she could manage. The two walked to the counter and placed them all down.

Girl standing there chewing her gum looked incredibly annoyed. “Cash or credit?”

“Credit, debit, actually.” Frieda shuffled through her pockets to pull out her new debit card. Frieda had no idea how much money she had, but it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t be paying a cent.

She inserted her card and the machine told her to keep it inside while it authorized. She entered her pin, but on the last number, a shock was sent through the reader. It immediately said ‘approved’ in all captial letters. She quickly removed her card, not paying one lick of the three hundred dollars she now owed.

Bea and her walked out, struggling once again to carry all the oil. Then, Bea tripped Frieda.

Frieda reached her arm out to catch herself on one of the sensors the were at the door. A shock was sent through it that made the sliding doors open.

“Sorry!” Bea said sounding mortified.

“It’s alright,” Frieda confirmed their plan had worked. When she turned around, she saw Bea with a massive grin on her face.

Once outside Frieda covered her mouth. “I’m so sorry,” She apologized to Bea. “I didn’t even ask if you wanted anything.” She was ashamed for not being more considerate.

“That’s alright,” Bea said. She reached into the pockets of the massive jacket. She pulled out a variety of snacks that were typical at a gas station. The young girl grinned again. “This is awesome!”

“Don’t call it too soon,” July walked up to them, but she just kept walking through the store doors. “The man in the Buick feels suspicious. Deactivate his phone.”

Frieda and Bea walked quickly to Danny’s truck that they had brought, putting all of the oil into the bed. Directly in front of them at the next pump was a Buick enclave. It was just the type of car that could hold many many people, just like they needed.

Bea Popped and she was on the other side of the man’s car. Away from where he stood on his phone facing the pump as he watched the numbers rise.

“I’m telling you I’ve already won the case,” Bea heard him speaking. “Once the kids are mine, I’m leaving for Finland.” Bea frowned hard before she Popped and she was inside the drivers seat of the Buick. She couldn’t make out his words through the glass of the window anymore. She did hear the gas slow to a stop before the nozzle clicked out of the on position. A few moments later, she heard a yell.

“What the f--!” The man dropped his jaw and subsquently his phone. Bea smiled as wide as she could with her oversized teeth. She saw Frieda duck down to the ground, presumably to retrieve the man’s phone.

“You dropped this,” Frieda informed the man. Bea watched the screen shatter in her very hand without any strain whatsoever, just before the man turned to look at her.

“Is this your child?” The man snarled at her. Frieda raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips and looking into the car. 

“Oh my word, I am so sorry!” Frieda leaned over and opened his car door. “Young lady!” Frieda leaned in to grab Bea, but grabbed the center console for a split second. The car started immediately. Then, a blare sounded through the air, both Frieda and the man jumped and looked to see a semitruck zooming towards them. The next sound was the door of the Buick Enclave slamming shut. The engine reved before the car spinned away. “Bea!” Frieda shouted, grabbing her head. “Oh my god, sir, can you call the police?” She begged him. She faced him to grab his hands. She tried to look as mortified as she imagined a mother being. 

He widened his eyes but quickly squinted at her. “Wait a minute… I know you!” He shouted right in her face.

Brights fashed in her eyes. She looked to see a semi truck flashing the lights of the truck repeatedly before it zoomed past them. Frieda watched as it flew by with Danny's truck hitched to the back of it

“My car!” Frieda shouted. She started to run after it before another car swerved in front of her way. It was a Ford Expedition. It followed in suit behind the truck.

Frieda ran to the closest car. She waved to the driver. He stopped and rolled down his window. “My car was just stolen by that truck!” The man gawked and turned to where Frieda was pointing to the semi. At his turned face, Frieda threw a punch as hard as she could through the window. The man groaned loudly and looked up to her absolutely appauled. “Sorry!” She glocked him square in the nose. He covered his face with both hands that became bloody instantly. “I highly suggest getting out of the car, sir,” Frieda warned him.

“Screw you!” He shouted back. The window started to roll up. Frieda placed her hand on top of the car. The window switched directions and rolled down. Then, the doors all unlocked.

“Get out!” She shouted, and she swore, she could hear her own voice through the car radio. The man scrambled and tripped on the concrete. Frieda hopped in the car and hit the gas as hard as she could. She wasn’t toe to toe with the others, she could see their red lights in the darkness.

She smiled slightly. Then laughed. They had done it! Frieda couldn’t help but release a holler of victory.


	82. Where

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old friends.

Ellenor yawned. Long and hard. She blinked her eyes incredibly slowly. She then groaned slightly as her stomach growled at her. She started to stretch out her arms. They felt as though they had been full of pins and needles for days. She smacked her lips too. They were drier than the desert. 

The more she blinked, the more she found it difficult. There was a strain to moving her eyelids. She grimaced at that fact. She sat up and felt a pain skyrocketed through her back. She then suddenly remembered the night in the prison. She was beaten with batons in her own cell. She was slashed at with blades. She was threatened with her life. She quickly grew dizzy at the thought.

“Frieda!” Ellenor called despite her cotton throat. “Frieda!” She yelled again, fuller this time. Her body began to convulse against her, fighting her from working too hard. “Frieda!” She nearly screamed into the bleak air. Then something flashed in her brain. There was a man carrying her. There was Frieda pushing someone to the ground. There was a man pulling her hair. There were many men hitting Frieda. She suddenly understood everything that happened. She covered her eyes from the horrific moments even though they were within her own mind.

Her door burst open and the lights flashed on. “Ellenor!” A woman shouted into her room. Her smile spread wide as she hurried forward.

Ellenor frowned at her. “Where am I?” She looked around to see simple furniture along with the wooden floor. The room was littered with varying quilts.

“Oh, um, Vaudherland,” The woman answered. “Sorry, you probably don’t remember me.”

Ellenor felt her third eye flutter open. She was beyond surprised that it could while her other eyes were open as well. “Jennifer,” Ellenor breathed out. “Jenn. We finally meet.” Ellenor offered her hand out in order for her to shake.

“Your letters were so eloquently written, ma’am,” Jenn complimented as she shook her hand.

“Please, we know each other. I’m so sick of being called ‘ma’am’ or ‘lady’ or ‘sergeant general.’” Ellenor made a face at each of them. Jenn laughed. 

Ellenor quickly gasped. She saw images from all around the house of all the different people. “Lolias! He’s here?” She looked up to Jenn with stars in her eyes. Jenn raised a brow. “I have to see him! It’s been so long!” Ellenor tried to move her legs to stand. 

Jenn smiled. “Let me get someone to come help you,” She offered. Ellenor nodded excitedly.

Two men came back to the room.

“Eryk! Isamu!” Ellenor recognized them both equally. “It’s so good to see you..Your hair looks so much better like this!” Ellenor gave a gesture up and down the massive hair. “And Isamu wow! You look amazing. I can tell you've been working out.” Isamu waved an embarrassed hand. “Gosh, I’m going to have to join you with that, I feel as weak as a woman like me could.”

Eryk and Isamu both moved to get their arms under Ellenor’s legs. “I’m starving!” She shouted. “Can we have breakfast? I’d love some eggs right now.”

“You’re in luck,” Isamu said sarcastically. “That’s all we have.”

Ellenor was placed at the small table that was in the kitchen as Eryk whipped some stuff up for her.

Jenn went to the kitchen door that presumably led to the outside. “I’ll have to wake Lolias up.” Ellenor gave a short nod as the other woman left. Isamu joined Ellenor at the table with a plate of an egg and a piece of toast. Eryk continued cooking at the counter.

Ellenor couldn’t help but shovel the food into her face vigorously. She wished she could have tasted the egg, she was sure it was delicious, but her body swallowed it too fast to enjoy. However, when she bit down into the toast, the flavor blossomed into her mouth. It was a flood of sensations that were intoxicating. Ellenor’s eyes rolled into the back of her head as she ate the mediocre toast that was a godsend in her starving mouth.

Ellenor ended up eating four more eggs before Jenn returned.

Jenn opened the door with a cheesy grin on her face. “I wanted to surprise him with you, but he kept telling me to go away, so I had to tell him.” Ellenor laughed, some crumbs lingering on her lips. Ellenor gestured to the men to come get her so that she could see her oversized friend. 

Jenn followed the men carrying her with one of the wooden chairs from the table. Ellenor was placed in the chair right outside the door, where it was still concrete. She saw two giant legs slowly move down into a cross-legged position. It seemed that he was trying to not make a ton of noise as he did, but his giant movements still shook the ground.

He looked sad as he looked down at her. She shook her head, disapproving of his mood.

“What’s poppin’, toaster?” She asked him. She referenced the codes they used to use, back when they were in such different countries and such different occupations. They had met in Costa Rica when Lolias was there for a competition and Ellenor was training there. They had both been out on the town. Ellenor was chasing tail, and Lolias was having a moment away from the stress of having the world’s eyes on him. When they had gotten to the bar, they had both ordered the same things at the same time and their voices rung out together in the loud crowded pub. Ellenor had never heard of Lolias or seen him before, she wasn’t very invested in any sort of competitive sports, and that’s why Lolias was so fond of her. It seemed that everyone was a fan in the small central american country and had traveled to watch him win. It was such a relief to be with Ellenor at the time. Not to mention, Ellenor’s homosexuality contributed to them actually being able to become friends. Neither felt any desire for each other. It was one of the first times Lolias felt like an acutal human being. At the time, he was absolutely gasted by that idea, but later, it became the one relationship he treasure more than anything 

Ellenor saw that memory in vivid detail play out in her eyes in less than a moment. Since the images were so crisp and the sounds so accurate, Ellenor assumed that the memory was played back by her third eye.

Lolias left out a laugh, a strangled tight laugh. He looked so devastated. The third eye kept blinking at him, trying to understand. But Ellenor understood. Ellenor was utterly pathetic. Her legs broken, her face beat, and her forehead plagued by a new tool of sight. Ellenor saw him blink the tears out of his eyes, but the glossiness remained in the moonlight.

“You look like you’ve grown,” Ellenor commented on his height.

“How would you be able to tell?” Lolias said facetiously.

Ellenor pointed to third her eye. “It says so.” 

“Scary,” Lolias continued with his snide behavior. “How much have I grown, all seeing eye?”

“You were barely shorter than the barn, you’re barely taller than it now,” Ellenor answered. “It can’t speak, genius, it’s just an eye.” She smirked. “It’s good to be sarcastic again. Do you know how uptight a general has to be?” 

Lolias laughed. “I can only imagine.”

“Be serious with me,” Ellenor asked for honesty. “What’s been going on?”

“No, no, tell me what’s been going on with you!” Ellenor raised her eyebrows surprised. Lolias wasn’t one to pass up the opprutunity to talk about himself. “You’re married now?” Ellenor laughed at his outrageous overdone surprise. “She’s cute too.”

Ellenor could feel her face heat up. “Yeah, she is.”

“Why’s she got glasses?” Lolias commented. “Doesn’t the government take care of everything health wise?”

“She can’t get lasic because she has astigmatism.” Lolias nodded in understanding. “Plus, she likes to stand out in a crowd.”

“She doesn’t need glasses for that! She’s gorgeous!” Lolias threw his arms out. Ellenor’s blush persisted. “She’s so smart too. She went out to--”

“I know what she’s doing,” Ellenor held a hand up with a smile. “I’ve seen it happen already.” She gestured to her third eye again.

“How’d you get that thing anyway?” Lolias asked. He leaned down to get a closer look at the accessory to Ellenor’s forehead. “It’s so creepy, but in a pretty way… Pretty in a creepy way?” Lolias questioned his own phrasing.

“A bullet and a weird diet and poof.” Ellenor made a movement to express an explosion. 

Lolias rolled his eyes. “Come on.”

Ellenor closed her eyes, but felt the third one stay open. “There was an assassination attempt. I took a bullet for the president and when I woke up I was so different.” Ellenor looked down to clench her fists. She looked up to make eye contact with Lolias. His expression was in shock. “What’s wrong?”

“You almost died for the president?!” Lolias shouted, his voice making the glass of the house tremble. 

“You didn’t know?” Ellenor questioned. “I was in the news for like… three weeks. I guess you could say I’m as famous as you now, being the world's most decorated general and all.” She tried to be snarky, but Lolias was absolutely taken aback.

“Why would you do that?” Lolias sounded appaulled. “Killing him would have ended the war!”

Ellenor frowned but she was only upset. “No one should have to die to end this war.” Lolias was quiet. Ellenor realized that it was probably the first time she had snapped at him. “You don’t know how much death I’ve had to see and none of them brought the end closer.” Ellenor covered her third eye with her hand. 

“I’m sorry,” Lolias said. Ellenor looked up at him. She was surprised the prideful man would ever apologize. “I don’t know what you’ve seen.” He reached a finger out to her. She clasped it in her hand. “I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for us, for me, everyone, you know.” 

Ellenor nodded, but then smirked. “You’ve changed a lot,” She commented on his kind and empathetic behavior.

Lolias heaved a sigh that was mixed with a laugh. “I blame Isamu.” He glanced back towards the barn.

“Isamu?” She frowned. “Have you been working out with him?” She asked him with the only idea of how they could possibly be close. But her future vision knew how they could be. Ellenor’s jaw dropped as the third eye showed her intimate moments between the two. “You have feelings for him?” She looked back up to him. Her own face was hot as could be, but Lolias was even more red. “Lolias, he has a boyfriend.”

“Sh, sh, I know, I know.” Lolias sighed. “I can't help that he makes me a better person.” Lolias gave a sad smile. “It's a long story.”

“I can only imagine.” Ellenor scoffed.

“But I want to hear about you,” Lolias told her. “I'm sure the ‘world's most decorated general’ has incredible stories to tell.”

Ellenor laughed. “Alright.”


	83. Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anxiety and self-doubt

Lolias was alone. It was the first time he had been alone in a while. He paced the barn up and down with the three steps he could take before meeting the front wall or the loft. His mind was racing after everyone had left the barn in the middle of the night to meet Ellenor when she had woken up at midnight. It was his conversation with Ellenor that had him going mad. Lolias had been respecting Ellenor with all his heart the whole time they spoke, but as soon as he left and she was carried back inside, his brain had taken over with driving him to insanity. And of course the only constant in the madness was Isamu.

It had felt like July was the only one that knew of Lolias’s growing feelings for the older Japanese man. Even so, he never blatantly said it to her. July only inferred and assumed with whatever was implied by the way Lolias spoke to her. Everyone else could only guess from witnessing the interactions he had with him. But it was Ellenor, who had never seen the two of them together, to finally say that… Lolias had feelings for Isamu. Lolias had feelings for Isamu.

Lolias clenched his fists as tightly as he could within his thick dark hair. He wanted to rip his skin off his own skull. 

_Lolias, he has a boyfriend. He has a boyfriend. He has a boyfriend._

Lolias shouted as he tore his hands away from his head. A few hairs were caught in the crossfire, but nothing more.

Lolias hadn’t thought about… Kieren for a while like that. He didn’t consider Kieren any sort of competition whatsoever. He didn’t consider Kieren to be Isamu’s boyfriend at all. He wasn’t! He left him behind to make him hate himself even more! Kieren only made Isamu think worse about himself and didn’t even care about his feelings. When Isamu thought, he only thought about the well-being of everyone else. He needs someone who doesn’t care about their own well-being, but his.

_I would never leave you because of how you look. I love you!_

Lolias slammed his hand into the side of the barn, making it quake around the impact. 

That bastard! He was so damn selfish and stupid and inconsiderate!

_I’d love to see you two together._

No! Isamu, you idiot.

_Then Lolias… He’s such the hedonist._

Damn it!

Lolias smacked himself on the side of the head with the palm of his hand. 

_But I’d never leave Lolias behind._

Lolias’s body relaxed slightly.

_I know he wouldn't do that to me._

Lolias felt his rage boil down to a simmer.

As much as Isamu glanced back at Lolias, as much as Isamu curled in close to sleep next to Lolias, as much as Isamu laughed when they worked together, as much as Isamu stared when Lolias put on a show, he had to reciprocate his feelings! He had to! Lolias had no doubt in his mind that Isamu felt something for him. No matter how little, no matter if he ignored it, no matter if he denied it, he had to.

Lolias covered his eyes with his hands.

_He has a boyfriend. He has a boyfriend. He has a boyfriend._

Lolias cried out as he couldn’t stand the pain that was growing in his chest and encasing his heart. As much as he wanted to blame Kieren for it all, he couldn’t. His own mind was the reason for the painful anxiety and self-doubt. If Isamu didn’t… love… Lolias, then that was up to Isamu and no one else. Everything from this point was Isamu’s decision. 

Lolias tighten his hands around his eyes as horrible, horrible waves of emotion rushed through him. He tried so hard to remain composed, but he was too far gone. He cried out into his wrists as tears started to rolled down his face and get caught by his palms.

_He has a boyfriend._

Lolias wanted to badly to forget eveything. He didn’t want this anymore. He couldn’t take it anymore.

_He has a boyfriend._

“Damn it!” Lolias shouted as he finally broke down into sobs. He curled in on himself onto the floor of the barn where the moonlight was his only company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lolias has lived his life not really having relationships and rather just having meaningless sex. Lolias is still very young and this is one of his first romances. This, I believe, is his first true teenage meltdown. I hope I described the pain well enough for everyone to invision the inner hurt that he's feeling when he's all alone with only his thoughts to tear him apart. <3


	84. Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to leave

As Frieda pulled up to the blue farm house, just past two in the morning, the house was bright and full of life. As happy as it made her to hear the great laughing and happiness of everyone, she cringed at just how loud it was. Everyone's guard was down in the moment for celebration of her and her wife's arrival.

Now, everyone's guard needed to be higher than ever before. Frieda was positive there was a man hunt out for her and Ellenor. And there was only three places to that they would expect them to go. Only two by foot, since they couldn't walk to Norway. 

Frieda hopped out of the car and shouted orders to the others. Bea was to get Pete and Jenn in a vehicle with as many children as possible. July needed to load Lolias into the semi truck along with one other passenger. Kieren was told to fit as many adults as he could into a car so that they could drive too.

Frieda made it her own mission to load Ellenor into Danny's truck so she could lay alone in the back seat. Frieda knew she'd need one more person for the front, but she had no desire for anyone else to join her.

Frieda made the short jog inside to the kitchen. It was completely vibrant within. Laughing and chatter filled the air. It felt cramped, but comfortable.

“Frieda!” Jenn called out through the warm air. Frieda saw her hand wave from the small table in the kitchen. She walked to her, having to squeeze between the other “super humans.”

At the small table, Jenn sat with Eryk, Isamu, and Ellenor. Frieda’s eyes widened with wonder to see the beauty of a woman well and alive. She saw her lover's eyes all fill with stars.

Isamu stood from his seat to offer Frieda his placement next to her wife, to which Frieda denied, saying Isamu was far more injured than herself. She placed herself standing next to Ellenor and Ismau. Ellenor quickly wrapped her arm around Frieda's hip in the most casual yet intoxicating way.

“July is loading Lolias up now, and Bea should be helping with the children,” Frieda informed the others’ of the jobs given. “We should leave now.”

“Very well,” Jenn said. “We'll get going.”

A hand was placed on the table. Everyone's attention was brought up to the long dark haired man making his presence.

“Isamu,” Kieren spoke as if no one else was there. “You should ride with me.” Kieren always talked like he was in a movie.

“Um,” July entered the conversation with her arms crossed.d the conversation. “I was going to invite Isamu to come with me.” July sounded accusational in her tone, but had no ill intentions in her words.

“I was told to get adults,” Kieren snapped at her.

His response only made July more tense. “I don’t _care_ what you were told to do.”

Kieren narrowed his eyes. “I don’t care what _you _want to do.” July narrowed her eyes right back.__

__“Kieren,” Frieda spoke up. It was a completely break in the stress between them. They were taken away from their own anger at each other and thrown back into reality. Frieda smiled at Kieren as he met eyes with her. She was taken back by the slight yellow glow to his scleras, but she remained calm and polite to Kieren. “When I told you to gather adults,” Frieda paused to let Kieren focus in on what she’d say. “I meant people who can drive.” Frieda smiled as Kieren frowned slightly._ _

__Frieda turned to Isamu. “No offence, but I don’t think you’re fit for driving.” Frieda saw that Isamu’s face was slightly flushed. Frieda turned back to Kieren. “Sorry,” She said with a smile. “You can ride together another time, but not now.” She gave a sure nod and turned back to Ellenor._ _

__She smiled down at her wife. “You and I can go in Danny’s truck. We could bring one other person.” Frieda paused._ _

__She looked back up to July and Kieren still standing at the table. SHe frowned deeply. “What are you waiting for?” Frieda barked at them. “There is no discussion. Don’t you know we have to leave now? Go!” They scrambled away after Frieda’s voice had disrupted the entire atmosphere of the kitchen. She felt bad for a moment, and figured, she was being unfair to the young adults. She needed to yell at everyone._ _

__“Get out of here!”_ _


	85. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieda has an agenda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the lack of updates, More to come soon!

With everyone on the road, Frieda quickly learned that there was so exact way to get in contact with anyone. Plus, everyone was taking a different route and at different times to get to where they needed to be. While their ultimate destination was Hønefoss in Norway, everyone knew they’d have to stop every once and awhile. The first stop would be the Singer gas station found in the heart of Luxembourg City. It was up to everyone to get to their destination in seven hours or less. If they didn’t make it, there wouldn’t be any stopping for them.

All of this had been plainly said, but not discussed. Frieda didn’t have time to discuss. She needed to get to the safety and security that she would have within the parameters of Norway. Once inside Hønefoss, Ellenor would be taken to the best hospital in the country and nothing less. That was Frieda’s goal.

It was Jenn’s objective to secure all the other “super humans.” Although they could never return to Frieda’s home, if it wasn't already burnt to the ground, Norway was a good place to start. They’d be safe long enough to think out a better plan. Plus, once Ellenor was in complete functioning condition, she would be able to use her power to guide them towards the future.

Frieda kept her rearview mirror pointed down to where she could keep an eye on Ellenor. She had no intention of looking at the cars behind her. Instead, she watched Ellenor’s even breathing as she slept. It was a peaceful moment, despite the lingering yellow tinted skin of nearly healed bruises.

A smile krept its way onto Frieda’s face. She hadn’t felt so safe since she had been called to duty almost two and a half years prior. She gazed reminiscing out the windshield with that sweet expression still loving.

She glanced back to Ellenor. She quirked an eyebrow as she saw that the purple eye had opened. It flashed different colors that Frieda couldn’t quite make out, but she assumed they were the images of a vision.

Ellenor’s eyes popped open as if in absolute terror.

“Lolias.”


	86. Antihero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> July questions her hero

July kept completely calm as she walked Isamu out to the semi-truck, despite her fueled rage. She wasn’t impressed at Frieda’s outburst as she acted like she owned the place. No one even knew her! She wasn’t the boss.

But July’s emotions were completely conflicted. She took pride in Frieda, trusted the woman with her life, believed every word she said, and was beyond happy to see her again. Frieda had practically saved her, Pete, Wolt, and Eryk that night, and July would never forget. But, July didn’t deserve to be treated like a kid.

“Hey,” Isamu spoke up after a few minutes of driving down the road. July was surprised to hear him talking to her. She had only ever heard him talk to Lolias and conspire with Eryk. But his voice in the moment sounded like a best friend she had known for many years. “Are you alright?” He asked.

July forced a laugh. “Of course I am! I’m so excited to get out of there. Why?” She tried to sound as genuine as him, but she wasn’t the best at hiding her emotions.

“You seem tense,” Isamu commented. “I was just worried.” A bleak silence washed over them only accompanied by the sound of friction bearing tires. Isamu took a deep breath, “You know you can talk to me, right? We’re… we can be friends.” Worry. Doubt. Sympathy. Isamu was a completely honest and genuine man.

July tried to explain. “Well, you see… I just, it’s that…” July let out an exasperated groan. Worry. Sympathy. Patience. That was a new one to July, but she recognized it on the spot. “It was Frieda back there.” July was ashamed to say it outloud, but the emotions that she felt from Isamu made her confident to continue. Worry. Confusion. Sympathy.

“She just… doesn’t get it! You know?” July glanced over to make eye contact with Isamu. He gave a nod to assure he was understanding. “She thinks we’re just a bunch of dumb kids making up drama, but it’s more serious than that! We could have handled it. I just want to be treated like an adult like everybody else.” She felt the wave of understanding wash over Isamu. It made her smile. “Don’t get me wrong, Frieda is an amazing lady, I just wish…”

The two were quiet again for a moment, but it was a more at peace feeling as they both contemplated the situation.

“Okay,” Isamu started with a sigh before continuing. “Maybe she wasn’t saying ‘we’ are kids, but rather, a certain someone who is more childish needs to be treated that way.” July widened her eyes as her eyebrows raised. “I’m only suggesting that maybe she approached the situation that way not because of you, but because of some other underlying reason.” July searched Isamu’s emotions. Sympathy. Understanding. Care. He was still completely genuine, but July couldn’t help but note the passive aggressive comment.

July smiled. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” July smirked to herself. “I’m sure Frieda doesn’t think I’m a kid. Thanks, Isamu.” They met eyes again and Isamu gave her the sweetest smile.

July turned on her turn signal to get off on the next exit. Isamu’s brow was quickly drawn together.

“July…” He said hesitantly. “We’re not supposed to get off until D83…”

July turned to Isamu with a smirk on her face. Her voice was completely sly when she spoke to him, “Oh, I know.”


	87. Tarnished

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Worried and such

While Ellenor was more worried than anything, Frieda was boiling with rage. July was doing something stupid; she was going against the plan. She'd put everyone and everything in danger if she went along with her own personal agenda. It wasn't fair to everyone else.

Frieda was completely torn because if she went to turn around and find them, there was no guarantee she'd get to Luxembourg in time, and there was no way to send someone who might be closer. Ellenor was the only one that could possibly know of July's idiotic intentions.

Frieda was being given a choice, assure Ellenor’s safety by getting to Norway as quickly as possible or possibly save the lives of three others who were only in danger because of some stupid impetuousness.

Frieda groaned loudly as she slammed on the breaks. She got off on the nearest exit.

The more time she wasted debating it, the further away she would be from helping anyone.

“Idiots,” Frieda said shaking her head as she turned around to get right back on the highway heading in the opposite direction.

“They’re just kids, Frieda,” Ellenor consoled her. 

Frieda’s face softened. “I know…” She sighed. “I’m sorry.”


	88. Babble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> July gives Isamu a chance to talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how much warning I'm supposed to give, but... Beware.

As time went on, July only continued to realize how great of a person Isamu was. While he was only listening most of the time, July still felt his comforting aura, and that was enough. He sat back and only listened to July talk, occasionally putting in his two cents. He always agreed with her and took her side on the stories she told, but he also looked at things from the other person's perspective.

Since July was prone to getting irritated at people who were rather unaccepting, most of her stories were about arguments and fights she had gotten herself into. Through her stories, July could feel Isamu’s constant sympathy, but also a tinge of jealousy. She guessed it was because he wished he would stand up for himself the same way she told him she did.

July’s voice was growing weak and tight. She hadn’t spoken so much in so long. It felt good, but she figured she was being rather selfish with her domination of the conversation. From what she gathered from Lolias, Isamu wouldn’t speak up if he wanted to. She decided she'd get some info from Isamu that he might not share directly with Lolias. She'd be doing two people a favor.

“So,” July started. “You and Lolias have been getting close.” She stopped in hopes of allowing Isamu to continue her own words. He didn't pick up on it. July figured she'd have to be utterly blunt with him. “Do you think you two could get together?” 

Embarrassment. Pride. Doubt. Ismau’s emotions came in a strange combination.

“Oh, I don't know,” Ismau moved around in a nervous manner. “I like Lolias a lot, but he doesn't seem to like him.” July's heart stopped in her chest.

“Who?” July asked.

“Kieren.” Fear. Doubt. Embarrassment. 

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Isamu sighed. “Did Lolias tell you what he told us?”

July squinted, horribly confused. “No?”

“Sorry, I don’t think I can tell you,” Isamu shook his head. “It’s not my secret to tell.” Doubt. Embarrassment. … Fear? “But Lolias didn’t exactly like it.” Doubt. Embarrassment. Fear. “I think it changed what Lolias thought about Kieren.” The way Isamu spoke in past tense confirmed that he wasn’t sure of what he was saying. 

“Why should that matter?” July asked even though she knew the answer. “Why would the way Lolias feels about Kieren matter?”

“Well, … He suggested that we all be together…” July knew about that, sadly. “And that can’t really work when everything is weirdly one-sided.” Shame. Doubt. Fear.

“But… Isamu,” She scoffed slightly upset and irritated. “Kieren… he doesn’t have to be in the picture.”

“Of course he has to be!” Fear. Doubt. Shame. “I could never leave Kieren.”

“Why not?” July’s voice was oddly sneering.

“Because he loves me!”

“Isamu, he’s not a good person.”

“How could you say that?!”

“He’s selfish, arrogant, conceited, inconsiderate, and stupid!”

“He isn’t selfish!” Isamu paused. Confusion. Fear. Fear. Doubt. Doubt. Doubt.

“You know he is, why can’t you say it!?” July’s redirected rage spilled out and she had to release her death grip on the steering wheel.

“Please don’t!” Isamu shouted after July threw her hands up in irritation. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. July looked over to see Isamu’s arm covering his scarred face as he cowered away. It clicked in July’s mind as she very slowly put her hands down back onto the wheel.

“Isamu…” She said. She felt nothing but the fear coursing through him. “Isamu, I’m sorry…” She could see Isamu shaking out of the corner of her eye. “Isamu…” No words came to July as she looked on to the bleak road. She hated the silence that was strung between them only filled with Isamu’s amplified emotions of pure terror. July was ashamed that she didn't recognize Isamu's inability to stand up for himself to this extent. It was so much more severe than she could have imagined.

“You can't… you can't be with him,” July implored him. “You have to leave him.”

“I can't!” Isamu shouted. His tone of voice accompanied by his mind full of only fear from the past. “I can't…” Fear. Shame. Hate. Doubt. Love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to those reading the new tags spoil the chapter.


	89. Personal Agenda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lolias is in the back of a truck.

It had been a few hours. Lolias only knew that because it was the only possible estimated time that it could be to not be at his destination, but still be a significant distance from the farm. Despite Lolias having a good idea of how long it had been with his great sense of time, it still felt like an absolute eternity. Lolias assumed he trip had felt so long only because he was utterly miserable. 

It was so cold in the winter of France. He still hadn’t gotten accustomed to the harshness of it getting so frigid. He missed his beaches of pure gold sand with the sun shining even more ferociously. While in the barn during the two winters he had spent at the farm he was provided a small heater that would make the barn above sixty in a few days within being turned on. But that heat couldn't compare to the freezing metal box he had to ride in as his friends rode up front.

Lolias couldn't hear anything but the passing of cars as they continued down the road. It was maddening. He wanted human interaction to keep him sane, but he knew that wasn't possible. He'd settle for a battery radio. 

On the occasional pothole or bump, Lolias’s head would bounce and sometimes hit the bottom of the cargo holder. While the giant metal box could hold him just fine, which surprised him, he still often bumped his shoulders into the sides He decided he was lucky that he specifically was the giant of the entourage. He was the most flexible with his gymnastics background.

Lolias wished he could just lay in the contraption and be miserable, but no. To top off his uncomfortable position, he had the anxiety of speaking to Isamu when they arrived. 

Lolias had decided that he would take this opportunity to see the world again. He wanted to do that with Isamu. Once they let the world absorb them, Lolias would confess his feelings to Isamu and ask him to explore the world with him. From there, it was up to Isamu.

Lolias kept thinking his lines over and over in his head. He knew exactly what he wanted to say and knew Isamu would let him say it all.

Lolias's flushed cheeks heated him up enough to be comfortable. He felt like a fool, blushing over someone, but he was happy he did. Lolias hadn't been so flustered since grade school. That's how he knew it was real. To feel the flutter in his stomach and the warmth of his chest was to feel true.


	90. Nerves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Watch the sun rise

The sounds of metal clicking together jarred Lolias from his sleep. He was absolutely surprised that he had fallen asleep at all. He looked out the now open back of the truck by tilting his head back as much as he could. He was once again shocked to see the sky was pitch black. July stood there with a sad smile on her face. He smiled back as he slid his body out of the back. 

When he was finally out, he stretched limbs out until they were strung tight. It felt fantastic. He was amused to find that it was warmer outside than it was in the metal box he had to be transported in.

Once Lolias had yawned, he glanced around.

“Where’s Isamu?” He asked July.

“He’s already out there,” She gestured to the front of the truck. Lolias turned around to look where her gesture led only to get a powerful chilled breeze in his face. The breeze tasted like the sweet salt that was only produced by the ocean. “But, Lolias…” July sounded hesitant. Lolias looked back to her. He saw a glimmer of sunlight inside July’s eyes. 

“The sun is already rising…” Lolias whispered under his breath. “July, I have to go,”

“Wait! Lolias, I have to tell you something!” July called after him.

“It has to wait, you know how important this is to me!” Lolias jogged toward the east. The sun was bordering on the horizon. The way it shined made Lolias’s stomach to nervous flips on itself. Lolias was beyond excited and he didn’t know how he was going to keep his composure in front of Isamu.

Once Lolias’s feet hit the sandy grass, he saw him. He stood tall, his posture way better than his depressed state normally let him stand. His deep brown black hair was blowing in such a way that made it look full of volume. _Fluffy._ He faced straight towards the horizon, staring right at the approaching sun.

Lolias couldn’t freeze. He moved right along to sit next to the standing Japanese man. He was comforted by the sweet sand between his toes, despite its freezing temperature. Lolias decided to join Isamu in staring at the rising sun and nothing else.

“I wish I had gotten to see this before…” Isamu paused with a chuckle. “When I still had both my eyes.” Lolias let the beautiful man speak without a word. “I only lived thirty minutes from Shirahama beach, but I never visited it. I was always too busy with my studies… It has to be one of the greatest regrets of my life.”

“You could have gotten out, gotten a boyfriend, done anything, why didn’t you?” Lolias glanced at him. He looked terribly sad with the sunlight in his face.

“I was the youngest of five. One brother, three sisters. They were all older than me… I didn’t really know them. I had to make a name for myself and for our family.” Isamu sighed. “They weren’t impressed when I came out of the closet.” Lolias’s heart stopped at that. “No one was… It was just the way it was where I lived. I wanted so badly to make up for my mistakes. I wish I could have taken a gap year like the americans do, you know? I wish I could go to Cuba, your home sounds so beautiful. I wish I could see this. It’s so beautiful.”

“I think you’d love it in Cuba,” Lolias said. He grinned peacefully. “My Gigi could teach you how to Mambo. She’d probably be so surprised at how muscular you are!” He laughed. “And of course we’d have to visit Habana Vieja. You’d be the palest person there. I used to bike along the Malecón there. We could go for a long walk there, get some mojitos at Elizalde!” Isamu laughed slightly. Lolias couldn’t help but join in.

Lolias blushed. “Remedios would be so much more beautiful with you.” It was quiet as Lolias’s heart fluttered in his chest. Nerves bloomed through Lolias as Isamu didn’t reply. He dared a glance towards the standing man. He immediately looked away with a massive flush to his face. He had seen Isamu with a deep red to his cheeks and a bite to his lip. It only made Lolias more infatuated. 

“I can't wait to see it with you.” Isamu's reply had Lolias reach a whole new level of heat. He thought he would explode of joy.

“Isamu,” Lolias finally turned to the incredible man. He sat on his knees and allowed himself to sink into the sand. He had to lean down and forward, but he collected Isamu's rough hand within his oversized ones. They both faced each other, both full of red, both completely struck in the moment. “Run away with me.” 

For a moment Isamu's eyes lit up, but he quickly shook his head. “But what about…?”

“No,” Lolias interrupted him. “Forget everyone. Forget everything. Be with me. Come see the world with me. I want this more than anything. We're finally out of that farm, we're free. I want you to be free with me. Be with me, Isamu.”

“Lolias…” Isamu looked down at their hands and then back out to the purpling sky. “I want this… It's so beautiful. I want to see so much of the world. I'd love to share that with you…” Isamu came back to him with his singular eye contact. “But I'm scared.”

Lolias gave an unsure smile. “I'm scared too.”

“I wish…” Isamu closed his eye. “I wish I had run away so long ago. I wouldn't care about my family name. I could have escaped all of this. ...But I'm glad it all led me to you.” Isamu opened his eye in the most adorable innocent way. “Lolias, I love--”

“LOLIAS!” The sweet calm air was broken by an awful scream from July. Just as the girl breached the sandy grass, another woman had followed. A head of orange gold caught up to her. She tackled July to the ground.

After them, ran up two more. One head of blue that was sticking straight up and the other of long, long black. The face accompanied by the hair was full of rage in an instant.

_Kieren._

Lolias quickly turned back to Isamu. The man was full of fear through his shrunken pupil and his trembling lip.

“Isamu,” Lolias caught his attention with his name. He turned back. Lolias grabbed Isamu's jaw in between his thumb and index finger. He then brought him as close as he could.

In a mess of different sizes, confusion, and fear, Lolias kissed Isamu. Lolias stayed tense and afraid until Isamu finally willingly relaxed into his hand. 

“Get off him, freak!” Kieren’s voice plagued the air. 

He heard it before he felt it. A streak of fire sliced Lolias's left arm in the middle of the bicep. Lolias reared away as he let out a scream of pain.

“Kieren!” Eryk shouted in confusion.

Lolias gritted his teeth. When he looked up from the then blood stained sand, he saw Kieren standing in front of Isamu as if taking a defensive position. He started to growl, but quickly stopped when he saw Kieren's death grip on Isamu's wrist. He squinted at it before looking up to Isamu's face. He kept his eyes lowered to the ground and trembled in fear.

“Let him go, Kieren,” Lolias warned. 

“He's _my_ boyfriend, Lolias,” Kieren mocked him. Isamu stayed silent. 

“Enough, you alpha males!” The guttural female voice could only belong to the one Frieda. “You will all be separated _completely_ once we get to Luxembourg. You have _all_ put this trip in jeopardy. You will not _speak_ to each other or _conspire_ anymore until everyone else is safe. Then you may ruin your own lives, get yourselves arrested, and get killed by your own means.” Frieda turned around on the hill, away from the rising sun. “We're leaving. Now!”

July was taken away with in Eryk’s car. Isamu had to go with Frieda. Eryk would from then on be driving the semi truck.

When the back of the truck closed, the last thing Lolias saw was Isamu crying profusely in the passenger seat of Danny's old truck. Lolias curled himself into a ball as he was trapped in complete darkness again.


	91. Obsessed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren has a feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes event before chapter 90 (nerves) and after chapter 87 (tarnished).
> 
> "Intense" language ahead.

There were a million different purple colored semi trucks. They all looked the same in the darkness of midnight. But there was one that caught Kieren’s eye. It was the purest of white and incredibly reflective as it passed him on the opposite side of the medium of the highway. Kieren squinted at it, but he figured his mind was just paranoid and ignored it.

It wasn’t until more than an hour later that a white pickup truck going the same direction of the semi truck that Kieren was finally pushed over. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the pick up truck was speeding towards the east instead of the west in pursuit of the semi truck. Kieren got off on the nearest exit, pulling into a gas station to fill up before he hurried to follow them.

The moment Kieren was out of his car, a massive van pulled in next to him. Its turn was so sharp it threatened to flip over.

“What’s wrong?” Eryk asked out of the driver’s window.

“I think it’s Frieda and Ellenor. Something’s wrong.” Kieren kept the whole truth from Eryk so he didn’t know of his true intentions. “I saw them driving that way down the wrong way.” 

“Ellenor must be having visions.”

“Let’s go!” Kieren hurried back into his own car. “The more we wait, the longer it will take to catch up to them.”

Kieren didn’t bother to fill up then. He already had Eryk slowing him down, he didn’t need more keeping him away from the semi full of idiots.

July was acting like she was justifying taking Isamu with them, but that bitch was just a puppet in Lolias’s hand to steal from Kieren. That stupid fucking giant wouldn’t get away with any of this. Kieren would take Isamu back with his own bare hands. A disgusting smell filled the car as the toughened plastic of the steering wheel started to run down Kieren’s arms, encasing his knuckles. Kieren only gripped it harder. Lolias was a goddamn coward for not facing him head on. This was between them, not him and Isamu. Kieren felt a twitch in his nose and a grit to his teeth. Kieren would kill Lolias before he let him take what was his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the awful things that Kieren thinks about July and Lolias. Totally sounds like the narrator, but I promise it's inner thought.


	92. Quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieda is salty.

Frieda had driven for a few hours. She was too great of a distance from Luxembourg. She would be left behind by the others. The fact that she had to worry about Lolias, Isamu, and July at all angered her so much. She wasn’t impressed that every plan was ruined because of some lovesick fools and whatever drama was brewing between them. All of them were acting like children. Frieda felt no sympathy for them.

Well… she thought she didn't. 

She thought separating them was the best solution. It was obvious that it was planned from the get go, and so, separating them would prevent any further deviations from the ultimate plan. Frieda decided that she would take Isamu because she thought he was the most mature of them all and wouldn't be an irritation.

He wasn't at all. He was definitely more mature than Kieren, who jumped to violence on the beach, and more mature than July, who sprinted away from Frieda at a moment's notice, but Frieda admitted she looked terrifying when she was mad, and absolutely more mature than Lolias who Frieda knew was the mastermind of the entire fiasco. The problem with having Isamu in the car was the constant tears the rolled down his face.

He made no sounds or sniffles as he cried in the passenger seat of Danny's old truck. He didn't move at all either, letting the tears compile around his jaw. Frieda felt terrible for what she had done when she didn't know the whole story. It hurt to see Isamu so helpless and weak. Frieda wished to comfort him.

She looked back towards Ellenor through the rearview mirror for some form of consultation to help her. She looked back to see Ellenor was fast asleep, but the purple eye on her forehead was wide open and staring directly at Isamu. It blinked and a tear slid down Ellenor's forehead into her hairline.

Frieda only hurt more to know that the eye could feel Isamu's pain. But Frieda knew she still had to do what she did. Isamu and July would have been arrested if they had waited any longer, plus… Lolias… The eye opened again to meet Frieda's eyes in the mirror. It continued to cry as Frieda assumed it was seeing Lolias taken out on the beach again just as she was. It was better to have everyone crying than to have anyone dead.

“Isamu,” Frieda tried to use her voice to comfort him. It came out broken and mangled. “I'm really sorry,” She admitted. Even though she had done what she had to do, she still felt remorse. “I didn't want to take your friends away from you.”

It was quiet.

Isamu drew in no breath before he spoke. His voice was lacking any emotion as he spoke gravely. “You didn't take my friends. You took my freedom.” 

Frieda frowned, confused. She looked back to Ellenor. She saw the eye still staring at Isamu and still crying, but Ellenor's shut eyes also made tears run down her face.

Images flashed through the eye. Frieda couldn't see any of them, since they always moved so fast, but each was of a beautiful vivid color. Frieda hooded her eyes in shame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Freedom from what?


	93. Mentality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's cold.

Lolias was going absolutely insane. Between the freezing cold metal all around him, the stinging pain in his arm, he had nothing to think about. Yet, his brain was moving a thousand miles a minute. He was haunted by the scene that happened on Deauville Beach. He didn’t want to think about it, but the pain in his arm and in his chest wouldn’t allow him to forget.

The back of the truck opened. A blinding yellow poured in, but a brush of soothing blue came and shielded Lolias’s eyes partly.

“Are you alright, big one?” Eryk asked him. His face was a silhouette with the way the sun stood behind him.

“Are we at Luxembourg?” Lolias tried to look out of the truck. 

“No,” Eryk brushed the back of his head. “I was just up and worried about you alone by . Are you hungry? Are you alright? Do you need anything?” Eryk hopped into the compartment.

“Jeez! It’s colder than an esky in here!” Eryk hugged himself. “Ta, I’m sorry, big one. I’ll get you something from the servo to keep yourself warm.” Eryk bounded out of the truck, landing with a thud on the ground.

“Wait!” Lolias reached out. Eryk paused and looked back. “Could… you maybe get me a radio?” 

Eryk laughed. “I’ll be right back,” And he hurried away.

Lolias was more than touched that Eryk was thinking about him. He was surprised that the australian man had stopped so early on in their journey. It could only have been a hour since they had all switched vehicles.

Lolias waited for quite some time before the mohawked man reappeared. He carried a ton of strange rolls.

“Open these,” Eryk commanded as he threw the rolls at Lolias. The man walked away again. Lolias squinted as he picked up one of five. It was incredibly soft and comforting. He brought it close to his face to read its label. ‘Fleece blanket’ was written across it in some goofy font in all capital letters. Lolias vigorously unwrapped the blanket to wrap himself up in.

Eryk’s return was signified to Lolias with a grunt. Lolias looked up and dropped his jaw.

Eryk lifted one of those ridiculous massive teddy bears into the storage compartment. 

“I know you didn’t get your pash with that Isamu, I figured this could make you feel better.”

Lolias had traveled a lot as a gymnast. He has seen those giant stuffed animals all the time for a ridiculous price at a pitiful gas station store. Lolias would have never even imagined buying one. He didn’t even know if people actually did. But there he was.

Lolias could pick up the bear much easier than Eryk could, but, it was still massive in his hands. It felt like a normal teddy bear in his hands, and he felt like a normal sized person. He smiled down into its shiny black beaded eyes.

He hugged it and snuggled into its plush nape.

“This is the biggest heated that was battery powered,” Eryk placed a tiny heater inside. “And the radio you asked for.” A radio was placed next to it.

“How did you get all of this stuff?” Lolias questioned him, even though he said it in a joking way. “You have money?”

Eryk frowned. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Hey!” A loud voice from outside of Lolias’s vision yelled. 

Eryk’s eyes filled with fear and surprise. “We gotta go!” He reached his arm up towards the the lifted semi door. Lolias frowned. He was way too short to reach. But, as soon as Lolias thought that, the door came crashing down and locking into place.

Less than a second later, the truck lurched forward. Lolias had to brace himself on the side. After a few moments to let the atmosphere settle, Lolias started to laugh. _Telekinesis._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anybody else see those giant to plushies the big gas stations?


	94. Pop!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bea has an idea. Who will approve?

Having Jenn in one car and Pete in the other was a dream come true for Bea. Both of them were constantly scolding her and it was so much better to just have one of them rather than two.

However, the two vehicles of children were taking a lot more stops than expected. Bea assumed that they were stopping much more than the cars occupied by adults. It was irritating to hear the smaller ones whining so much.

Bea knew that Pete was trying more than anything to communicate with Jenn. The two stayed close with their cars, but they still couldn’t speak to each other. There was even more whining from the kids when they had to get out of their respective cars and their “friends” were nowhere to be seen.

A brilliant idea came to Bea. She decided to wait until everyone was asleep except for their dubbed driver, former Prince Pete. As the oldest “child” in the car, she deemed herself worthy of the front seat.

Pete had massive bags under his eyes when Bea looked to him. She figured that it would take the edge off if she made her offer to the stressed Prince.

“Hey, Pete,” Bea grinned with her teeth showing. She couldn't help but show how proud she was. “I have an idea.” The driver quirked an eyebrow.

“I can do my Popping, right?” Bea said in a dainty voice. “And you want to talk to Jenn, right?” Pete frowned deeply, obviously confused. “I could Pop into Jenn's car! I could be your messenger!” 

Pete's eyebrows were nearly off his face. “Bea,” He hesitated as his face turned to a grimace. “I don't think that's the best idea.”

“I've thought about it a lot! I'll just make sure there's no cars, but I'm pretty sure I can make it no problem.”

“I don't know…” Pete squinted at the road. “Isn’t your Popping kind of… unpredictable?”

“No!” Bea was terribly offended by the questioning of her power. “I've got it totally under control!” Pete still showed complete apprehension. “I'll be back in no time!”

Bea glanced back to check for incoming cars.

“Bea, no!”

She Popped out of the car. She was in the brisk air for less than a moment before she Popped again and was within the SUV that Jenn was driving. She plopped down slightly, falling into the lap of Jerricho, sitting in the front passenger seat. 

“What?!” Jerricho shouted.

“Bea!” Jenn shouted too. 

Bea laughed. “I can be your messenger now!” 

“No!” Jenn insisted immediately. “Pete let you do this?”

“Um…” Bea gave a nervous smile.

“You can't do this! It's dangerous!” Jenn scolded her.

“Fine, I'll go back.” Bea pouted.

“No, Bea, don't!”

She Popped without thinking. It was her intuition. The same as breathing or blinking. Her eyes widened in a moment as blinding lights invaded her senses. She shut her eyes as fast as they opened. With her intuition out the window and her mind full of fear, Bea Popped harder than she ever had before.

She clenched her fist as she felt the softness of the cushions that lined the car seat. Her knees were shaking and her breathing was fast.

“Bea?” She heard Pete's voice and it pushed her over the edge. She started to wail loudly as the pain through her body started to be too much to bear. She curled in on herself and gripped her shirt tightly to hold herself in.

“You're bleeding!” Pete sounded horrified. “Oh my… okay, don't panic…” His own breathing sped up. “We'll get off as soon as we can.”

Bea bent over herself and reached to touch the bottom of the leggings that constricted her ankles. She saw the blood staining the leggings that ran down from her knee to pool in her shoe. 

She could feel it. She didn't have to know. The tendons in her legs had been snapped. She sobbed hard.


	95. Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenn checks her phone.

Jenn wanted more than anything to just get to Luxembourg. The journey so far had already been plagued with the whining of the children, and the idiocy of staying in proximity to Pete.

It was supposed to be that Pete's power could keep everyone safe. But that wasn't the case with the notorious Bea.

Pete apparently didn't know the total extent of his power. He was in complete panic and shock. His state of mind was no help to the situation. While his power did slow the bleeding, it couldn't stop it. Jenn wasn't impressed with these “super humans” being so unaware. She scoffed to herself. 

While Bea, Pete, and Jerricho all sat in the backhand bathroom of the lowest brow gas station, Jenn couldn't help but give her phone a glance.

She ignored the hundreds of notifications from Adam and the dozens of voicemails he had left for her and went to her news. That was her only use of her phone before, she supposed it always would be.

What she saw on the page was shocking.

_ROGUE MEDIC RESPONSIBLE FOR ELLENOR MARIE’S DEATH._

Holy. Fuck.

With the image of Frieda's blood smeared face as its cover, the article was complete.

Jenn scrolled further.

_PROVENCAL MARSHAL, ROBERT LEWINSKY, MISSING. ROGUE MEDIC IS TO BLAME._

_HUNDREDS OF PROVENCAL SOLDIERS LIVES TAKEN AT THE HANDS OF ROGUE MEDIC._

This can't be happening

Jenn had to get to Luxembourg as soon as possible to tell Frieda.


	96. Late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenn gets anxious.

Jenn stood against the car tapping her foot rapidly. She kept glancing at the time on her phone. It was now past six in the morning. Yet, Pete and her were the only ones that had arrived at the Singer gas station.

They had been there for so long, some of the children dared to run around to play with each other. Jerricho stayed in the car since she knew Vivica couldn't be seen and Bea stayed because she was tired from her… endeavors.

Jenn was nervous as she stared at the entrance to the back of the gas station. She waited for someone, anyone to come. 

She figured everyone else would be right on time.

“Hey,” Pete called to her. He sat on the hood of the Expedition he drove. “Relax. They'll get here when they get here.”

Jenn heaved a sigh. “You know what Frieda said… we have to leave others behind if they don't make it on time.”

“Who would you be concerned about leaving?” Pete quirked an eyebrow.

“N-- No one!” Jenn covered her mouth. She had no idea why she would stutter.

Pete laughed. “I don't want to leave anybody too, but we have orders.”

“But…” Jenn bit her lip. “What if Frieda and Ellenor are late.” Jenn could see Pete's pupils dilate. “... I won't leave them. Not after everything.”

“We can't stay here forever… we're putting ourselves in danger. We have to leave to stay safe.” Pete shook his head. “We have to be smart about this.” 

Jenn panicked. She had to come up with a way to make him stay. “Well… you can't take the children that don't want to go with you.” 

Pete narrowed his eyes. “Fine. I'll take who wants to go with me.” Jenn curled her nose and upper lip. “This isn't about you, Jenn. It's about all of us.”

Jenn's attention was taken away as her phone buzzed. She opened it quickly. She was beyond grateful for the break from Pete's horrible truth. 

She opened the notification to the news app.

_ROGUE MEDIC’S ACCOMPLICES_

This can't be good. Jenn opened it.

_The following people are in cahoots with the rogue medic, Frieda Perime, and should be viewed just as dangerous._

_Lolias Garcia-Diaz. Former Cuban gymnast finds himself associating with super-sympathizers. The gymnast is to be recognized as an idealist._

_Eryk Nullwood. The Australian farmer was drafted after being discovered as a super. He was called “the brutalist” in his regiment. The super is beyond compassion._

_Ichiro Tadaaki. The young and ambitious member of the Ichiro family found himself dropping his studies to enter the war. After his officer was killed in action, he found himself relying on super humans._

Jenn dropped her phone away from her face.

Goddamnit.


	97. Noon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenn is still worried.

The sun shined, no, beamed down onto the cars. It was getting hot and fast. The children around were almost as antsy as Jenn herself. She was pacing at this point while she clenched her fists to dig her nails into her palms as they sweat.

She was beyond grateful that Tadaaki, Aki, Blossom, and Wolt had all made it to the gas station. After them, Sachi, along with Hwan, Candy, and Kev arrived. Once the clock hit seven o'clock, Camelia rolled in with Xander, Mavis, and Lewis. Not five minutes later, the final car came, holding Paul, Egend, and Ivan. 

Their arrivals only increased Jenn's worry. While she wanted everyone to get to Luxembourg safe and on time, she couldn't shake the thoughts of the still missing supers. 

Jenn definitely worried about Lolias, Isamu, and July. But it was Eryk, Ellenor, and Frieda's absence that had her on edge. They were the ones with plans, the ones with a destination. The sun was the only thing certain.

Jenn brought her phone back up to her face. She clicked on to her news app again. Of course there was another article.

_FURTHER INVESTIGATION TO ROGUE PROVENCAL MEDIC_

_The conspiracy growing around the young medic, Frieda Perime, may have more depth than anyone could have imagined. Provencal Marshal, Robert Lewinsky, was seen picking up a delivery addressed to Miss Perime. It's common knowledge that the Marshal is now missing._

_As for Miss Perime’s connection to the greatest general known to the twentysecond century, the marriage may be inaccurate. The certificate is dated to be the same as the night Ellenor Marie was shot in order to save the president._

_In addition to the fake stories, there was an influx of car theft Wednesday morning near Ellenor Marie's property in Vaudherland._

There was a black and white image of who couldn't be anyone else but Bea. She was carrying gallons and gallons of oil.

_All the ideas presented are speculation, but the connections are obvious. Those accompanying Miss Perime are to be viewed as nothing else but dangerous._

There was a vertical image of Eryk inside someone else's car. It looked as though it was taken with a phone. Following was a picture taken of someone's license plate. Next was one of Jenn looking incredibly pissed off as she laid on the horn of the car she stole.

Jenn had no idea what to do. She wished Frieda hadn't given her this job. She would forever have to take care of “super humans” she once believed she could love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about all these Jenn chapters I just want to convey how long it's taking for the others to get to Luxembourg.


	98. Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who will be left behind?

Lolias held his teddy bear tight to his body. He listened to the engine turn off to the semi. He waited on edge as footsteps approached the massive back door. Lolias always assumed that it would be Eryk, but there was still the chance that someone hostile would investigate the truck.

Lolias was relieved when Eryk entered. He left the door slightly open to let in some light.

“Are we at Luxembourg?” Lolias asked again.

Eryk shook his head. “I was just worried about you.” He pulled out some bags that made crunching noises in his hands. “I figured you'd be hungry.” 

Lolias laughed. He accepted one of the bags of chips. “Thanks.” The two were quiet together as they respectively munched on their snack. Lolias's eyes were rolling into the back of his head. He couldn't remember the taste of anything but sweet beans and eggs. He forgot how good junk food could be.

“We'll be there in a few more hours,” Eryk informed. “Everyone will probably be gone by then.”

Lolias nodded. “I'm sorry,” He apologized to Eryk. “You've left your friends for me.”

Eryk shook his head in opposition. “I'd much rather be with you, Frieda, and Ellenor than anyone else.”

Lolias almost gasped. He had completely forgotten that they would meet up with the others who followed them to the beach at Luxembourg.

“Eryk…” Lolias smiled. “Can I make a request?” The Australian man quirked an eyebrow. “When we get there, could you get Isamu to come talk to me?”

Eryk agreed on the spot. “You two deserve your time together.”

Lolias smirked. “Thanks.”


	99. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six o'clock at Luxembourg.

Eryk had to yield to three cars before he could turn left into the Singer gas station in Luxembourg. He was more than surprised that they had all arrived simultaneously. He had thought he and Lolias had stopped too often to get to Luxembourg on time.

The only thing to top Eryk's surprise was the amount of cars behind the Singer station. His mind was confused for a moment, but then he saw Jenn waving vigorously at the approaching vehicles.

Eryk stopped and parked, but the time he did, Frieda was already stalking towards Jenn.

“What did I tell you?!” Eryk could feel the heat her anger emitted from where he stood.

“I couldn't leave you!” Jenn defended herself. Eryk shook his head. Frieda grabbed Jenn's shirt as she yanked her in. She threw a punch. Eryk cringed away before he could see the impact.

“You're putting everyone in danger!” Frieda shouted.

“We were in danger far before this,” Jenn insisted. Eryk squinted to try and see the light that lit up Frieda's face. “They already know who we all are.” 

“How could--!” Frieda's speech was cut short sharper than a knife. Frieda looked to the old white truck with a terrified look. Everyone waited on edge as silence took over. “… Ellenor…” Frieda shoved Jenn away from her. The woman fell to the ground while the other hurried to the truck.

The door was pulled open. Ellenor sat up, wrapping her arms around Frieda. Quiet sobs filled the air as the other supers looked on in confusion.

“They know where we are.” Frieda whipped around to face everyone. “They're coming for us!” Frieda grabbed her head in panic. 

She looked down towards Jenn on the ground. But not at her face, at her phone. Frieda ran towards Jenn. “You idiot!” Jenn cringed away from Frieda's rage. When Frieda swung her arm, it didn't connect with Jenn, but her phone instead. Frieda clutched the phone in her phone. It exploded with a terrible noise and a horrid smell. “They've been tracking you this whole time!”

“No, I swear!” Jenn shook her head.

A small gasp invaded the atmosphere. All eyes looked to Sachi. “Someone is here.”


	100. Left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The climax

They were supers. No one stood a chance against them! With one half being perfect weapons, the other half was defense. Surely… no one stood a chance. 

“Kieren! Tadaaki!” Frieda called. The two young men hurried to her. “Block that entrance, don't let anyone back here.” The boys hurried to the spot and took an aggressive stance. “Pete, you go right behind them. We don't need anyone else hurt.” Frieda glanced around. “Pete?”

“He left,” Jenn croaked. She stood up from her pathetic position on the ground. “He said it was dangerous.”

“At least someone around here isn’t an idiot!” Frieda snarled. “How about the girl?” Frieda snapped her fingers as she tried to remember. “Bea!”

“The blue one,” Jenn pointed to the larger of the blue cars. 

Frieda hurried to the passenger side. She swung the door open to see a pitiful girl whose skin was tinted a sickly color.

“How much weight can you teleport with?” Frieda asked urgently. 

The girls slack jaw barely moved, “I don't know.”

“Well, I hope it's more than one-sixty.”

Frieda lifted the girl into her arms and hurried to Danny's truck. Ellenor shook her head when she saw them.

“Don't make me leave you,” She said through the tears.

“I'll find you.” 

Bea placed a hand on Ellenor and after a popping sound they were gone.

“Eryk,” Frieda hurried to the man. “You pulled guns out of hands of the Selenian army, correct?” He nodded. “Pull them to me and I can disarm them.”

“They won't have guns,” Sachi hissed. “They may want to take us down, but they don't want to kill us.”

“How do you know?” Frieda snarled.

“It's tasers they use,” Aki shuddered next to Frieda. The small girl placed her hand over a large scar on her neck.

“That's if you go cooperating,” Hwan murmured.

“Tasers?” Frieda questioned. An idea blossomed into her head like the dark ink on a white fabric. “I think my power might help us more than I thought it would.” 

“What is your power, Frieda?” July rolled up next to her.

Frieda blushed. “I don't exactly know…”

A few laughs rung out. Frieda frowned in response. “None of us do.”

“July… get Lolias out of here,” Frieda looked to the large truck. Lolias was the only piece of Ellenor's life before the war that Frieda remotely knew about.

“No,” July stood her ground. “Sachi and I can sense them. We're the most valuable to you.”

Frieda's heart sank. “You're all valuable, that's why I'm asking you to leave.”

“Help!” A poor innocent Tadaaki called in the brisk air. Noises of fire whooshing consumed the fear, it's accompaniment was the stretching noise of the plants breaking the tarred ground. 

Kieren's face was relaxed and focused, but panic coursed through Tadaaki’s being. 

Frieda ran towards the first line of defense. She felt as though that would be what Ellenor would do. She looked through a blazing wall of fire to the Singer gas station entrance. 

A dozen cars were rolling in with heavily armored men. Frieda squinted at a man with an uniform that was much different than the rest.

He smiled when they made eye contact. The Marshal. Terror struck deep not only within Frieda, but to anyone that could recognize the conservative official. Behind Tadaaki’s aggressive plants formations, Frieda looked outward to see the man get a bull horn placed into his hand. 

“We know you’re here, Ellenor,” The Marshal’s creaky voice was the only sound with the tightness of Tadaaki’s plants and the roar of Kieren’s fire. “Come now and maybe we’ll show these super humans some mercy.”

Freida’s stomach clenched in on itself. Ellenor was already gone, they had no leverage against the Provencal forces. The reality of the situation sank deep in Frieda’s mind.

“We have to leave,” Frieda whipped around towards the other supers. “There’s too many of them.”

Jenn was right there next to Eryk when Frieda looked behind her. The color of Jenn’s hair in the dimming sun reminded Frieda of the shining brunette of Ellenor.

“Maybe if we got some of them to leave…” Jenn started to suggest. 

“We need a distraction,” Eryk started to look around as if the solution would be right next to him. But Frieda thought it was.

“Jenn,” Frieda reached out to her. “Be our distraction.” 

“How?” Jenn asked. She sounded pleading as though she needed to do whatever Frieda said.

“Let me french braid your hair.” Frieda started to section off Jenn’s hair. 

“What are you doing?” Eryk wasn’t buying into the scheme Frieda was trying to pull off.

“We’ll send Jenn out as a decoy,” She explained herself.

“That will make some of them chase after me!” Jenn paused before she looked over her shoulder to smirk at the first line of defense. “I’m sure Kieren and Tadaaki would be able to take out any number of people they wanted, but I’m more than happy to make the load a little smaller on them.”

“This isn’t the greatest time for jokes,” Tadaaki scolded. He shouted to compensate for the noise made by Kieren’s power, but sounded loud enough for the entire gas station to pick up. 

“The laughter of the doomed is the most honest,” Jenn remarked. She still smiled.

“Take Danny’s truck,” Frieda commanded her.

“What?” Jenn grinned. “No goodbye kiss?”

“We’ll see,” Frieda rolled her eyes. 

A holler came from the two facing the front of Singer gas station. Both Eryk and Frieda whipped around to them. Tadaaki had released whatever power he held on the plants that were attacking. He hurried over to Eryk holding his wrist out with a death grip. Eryk gently put his hands on Tadaaki’s arm.

“It hurts!” Tadaaki cried. “It hurts…” Eryk plucked out the ends of cords that stuck out of Tadaaki’s skin. 

“It’s okay, sunny one,” Eryk consoled him. “You’ll be alright.”

“He was hit too,” Tadaaki glanced back to Kieren.

“Kieren!” Eryk called to him. Just then, Sachi rolled up to take Tadaaki away. Huge glossy tears streamed down Sachi’s face. “Stand down.”

He glanced over at Eryk. “I can handle this,” Kieren said flatly. He wasn’t impressed that someone who had never seen his power was telling him what to do. Kieren’s mind stayed on that thought until he was overly angry. Just as he turned to tell Eryk off, the ends of the wires connected with his face.

The rapid whoosh of the fire was gone in less than an instant. A moment later, a cry was screaming through the air. Sachi had curled in on himself. He was once completely worried for Tadaaki, but seeing Kieren with the business end of a taser sticking out of his face had him switching roles. Sachi was now being escorted by Tadaaki away from the horrible scene of Kieren’s body convulsing with electricity. 

Frieda hurried to Kieren. She was terrified that her actions would lead her to the same fate as him, but she knew he had a good chance of survival back away from the fight. She got lucky just in time.

She didn’t look, but she heard the slamming of car doors, engines starting, and tires screeching. Their plan had worked. 

Frieda only looked back when she jogged back to Eryk to see how many of the operatives had left. Of the half dozen cars that had arrived, two remained. It seemed that there were now only five men.

“Eryk,” Frieda addressed her only company at the entrance to the backside of the gas station. Eryk perked up to her immediately, ready to speak however she asked. “Is there anyone else that can help us?”

Eryk sighed. “I don’t think so… Everyone else’s power can’t do physical damage.” He looked back towards the other supers. He knew all of them would help if they could, but with Kieren and Tadaaki out of commision, plus Wolt and Candy gone with Pete, they didn’t have much brute force to work with.

“It’s just me and you then,” Frieda gave a laugh.

“The laughter of the doomed…” Eryk started. Frieda laughed and rolled her eyes.

She watched as one of the agents took aim at them. Frieda held her hands out in order to catch the taser as soon as Eryk pulled on it. He pulled long before the agent clicked the taser’s button. The operative stumbled slightly before releasing whatever grip there was on the taser.

It flew straight towards Frieda as an incredible speed. She forced herself not to close her eyes as the thing threatened to collide with her. She caught it with firm hands. Her grip was so tight that she thought she might break it with her fists before her power could even come into play. The thing exploded no problem in Frieda’s hands, just like any other form of tech that she held.

Another soared in the sky to her. She didn’t even see it coming. She hadn’t realized that Eryk wouldn’t have stopped for her. He needed to disarm all the men before they could take anymore of them out. 

Frieda and Eryk continued their play of catching and destroying the tasers. It was going incredibly smoothly, so Frieda was disappointed that she hadn’t done it sooner to keep Kieren and Tadaaki up and running.

However, before Eryk could pull the weapon out of one of the pairs of hands, the button was clicked. While the taser came to Frieda just like any other, so did its electrified wires. Frieda cringed. She held her arms up in front of her to block her face from the terrifying clicks of electricity that the taser emitted. The wires connected and stuck to her bared arms.

Frieda felt no pain from the weapon like she had been expecting. It was only a simple jolt that electrified her. She would argue that it almost felt good. It was invigorating. She felt like the current was running through her arms up and down every vain.

It was incredible, the deep intuition she felt. She had heard stories of people just somehow knowing what to do when their powers first started to surface. She recognized the occurence in a second.

She _knew_ that this charge within her would last, but more importantly, she _knew_ that it would flow.

Frieda slammed her fist down into the ground. And just as the ink flows through the white fabric, the electricity bloomed from her hand, down to the ground, and through the lot. 

She looked up to see the men start to convulse as if they had, too, been electrocuted. Except, what really layed Frieda’s theory to rest was the way the car alarms blared.

Once all the men were laying on the ground cold, Frieda commanded everyone to get out as soon as possible. 

They would all meet in Sandweiler, a town just outside of Luxembourg City. If they were lucky, they would all make it on time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 100! Feels good to finally be here. Sorry it took so long to upload though, I had a lot of revision and such. 
> 
> There will be a little hiatus as this is the ending of the first part of this four part story. I'm going on spring break and will come back with lots more to share! Stay tuned.


	101. ART

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Check out some art all provided by the lovely Sky Fisher: https://www.instagram.com/howdoesonedraw/


	102. Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieda searches for Ellenor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Info dump plus feels.

Frieda changed the seating of all of the cars. It wasn't hard since so many people had disappeared with Pete and a few were down for the count after the fight.

No one was to be alone while driving anymore. There was safety in numbers, but more importantly, those who could fight needed to be with those who couldn't. 

Frieda didn't have an idea of all the powers of the different supers before. She wanted more than anything to sit down and learn everything about everyone, but it wasn't possible. They needed to move now more than ever.

The final destination was given instead of small stops take to get there.

Along with the reorganization of the seating, there was a change in license plates. Eryk had Pulled plates off of other cars and trucks to replace the ones that were surely already documented. It was a good call on his part. 

As much as Frieda outputted a level head, she was losing herself to her own mind. Bea and Ellenor, the two most powerful supers were the two most injured, were the two missing. It was no question that Frieda would be the one to search for them. Eryk was the one to find Jenn.

Frieda wanted more than anything to be selfish and go after Ellenor alone, but when Sachi’s power was brought to her attention, she was beyond thrilled.

Eryk had said that Sachi should come with him. Sachi would be able to recognize Jenn's brain waves when they were close enough to her. Quickly after, July volunteered, saying that she was able to do the same but only with certain people.

Frieda knew she had to have one of them at her side to find Ellenor. She considered asking for both of them to come with her, but promptly put the thought to rest to make sure Jenn would be found too.

With the tension between Frieda and July after yelling at her twice in the span of sixteen hours, Frieda figured it would be best to team up with Sachi.

Frieda wasn't quick to get to know people. She liked to ask questions about others to get then figured out without them even realizing. However, she still felt like there was so much to learn about people no matter how many conversations they had. It was nothing like that when she was with Sachi. He had such a flamboyant excited behavior about him. Frieda had only been talking to him for fifteen minutes, but she felt like she had a good grasp on the type of person he was.

The slightest thing could make him change moods in a heartbeat. He went from full of anxiety over Kieren and Tadaaki’s well being, to saltily explaining how July felt about Kieren, to happily boasting about his best friend, July, to quietly asking about Ellenor. Frieda couldn’t help but grow fond of him fast. He cared about so many things, so many people, and was so passionate about any little thing.

Driving with Sachi had been the right decision. His attitude calmed her nerves down enough to have conversations that weren’t about the impending doom she felt.

“How did you and Ellenor meet?” Sachi asked. His voice was especially pitched. “I know it’s cliche to ask, but…”

Frieda chuckled. “We met in a bunker,” Frieda smirked at the memory. “She was trying to act like some kind of tough brute hero when, in the end, I gave her nine stitches in her arm.” 

“She is incredibly strong though,” Sachi pursed his lips in a teasing manner. “I bet she could have handled it.”

“I don’t know,” Frieda paused to take a relaxing breath. “It was a long time ago. She was a lot scrawnier when I first met her. Of course, those shoulder pads they give to generals could contribute to that.” Frieda tried to join into Sachi’s jesting behavior, but she felt like a fool. “She’s changed a lot since that night...”

Memories flashed in Frieda’s mind. Ellenor used to have the softest cheeks, Frieda remembers holding them in her hands. Frieda remembered walking in on Ellenor pumping weights the day after she became a general. It was that night that had changed everything. Ellenor’s first vision, Danny’s encampment burning. Frieda saw the third eye open in her mind. She shuddered remembering the yells of pain Ellenor released. It was the only sound that she could hear.

“I wish I could comfort you,” Sachi’s voice was brought through the horrible silence. Frieda was taken away from her memories back to the present. It seemed to be completely silent as only ringing inside her own head. The passing of a car made the moment feel more real.

“What?”

“I mean my power,” Sachi explained. He reached out towards her. “I can only influence people so much… If I could soothe you, I would.”

“You can sense my emotions?” Frieda inquired.

“Yeah,” Sachi chuckled. “I've about been around you enough to recognize your brain waves.”

Frieda's heart stopped. “What?”

“Well,” Sachi shrugged. “Everything in my head is kinda this huge jumbled mess, but if I listen, I can pick out individuals’ sounds that I remember.”

Frieda's chest hurt. “Do you…?” Frieda looked to Sachi, hoping so much, that he would finish her sentence. But he wasn't a mind reader. “Do you think you'll know Ellenor enough?”

Sachi's pupil's shrunk. _Oh no._

“I'm sure I can do it!” Sachi reassured, his voice wavering. “I promise I can handle it. If I just listen…” The ringing came back as the conversation was cut by Sachi focusing. Frieda's head pounded with the sound of her own pulse. She wished it was the only thing she could hear, but Ellenor's cries of the past filled her head.

“Wait!” Sachi shouted. Frieda widened her eyes at the outburst. Sachi pointed out towards a massive green sign. Frieda squinted. “There! Someone's there!”

Frieda slammed on her breaks and pulled off. She was scared the car she drove would flip over into the huge ditch next to the huge road. She almost didn’t look back down the highway to see if anyone was coming before she jumped out of her seat. Luckily, the person behind her pulled off just as fast as she did. She squinted at the approaching car, but paranoia struck fast. She ran to the other side of the car and pulled Sachi’s door open. 

“Someone else is here,” Frieda warned as she grabbed his wrist. She quickly pulled him towards the sign. Sachi snatched his own hand back away.

“July!” Sachi called. Frieda glanced back. July came close enough to see in the dim light of dusk. The two hugged when they were close enough.

Frieda's chest dropped again doing somersaults over itself this time. No one else understood what this meant.

They would never find Ellenor. None of these supers knew her. They would never recognize her in the sound that Sachi described.

“We need to hurry,” July said. She took off in a jog towards the giant green sign. Sachi, Frieda, and Eryk followed. “She's right here, but it's so quiet.” July seemed to search around as she spoke.

Once they were close enough, Frieda finally saw the white truck that was assuredly Danny's. 

“July,” Sachi suddenly stopped in his tracks. “I don't hear her.”

“She's right here, Sachi,” July eased with a broken voice. “I feel it.”

“I don't hear her!” Sachi shouted. His voice cracked completely as he broke into sobs.

The two obviously knew something Frieda and Eryk didn't, but it wasn't hard to piece together.

Their footsteps sped up, only accompanied with Sachi's wails. The moist grass formed to their steps, but made their pounding feet all the louder. 

July was the first to reach the truck. Frieda watched as she covered her mouth as she gazed in through the driver's window. 

Frieda didn't want to look, but she had already seen the entry holes of bullets in the back window of the cab. 

July seemed completely calm as Frieda reached her. Frieda prayed that the scene wasn’t horrific so that she too could remain quiet.

When Frieda finally peered into the window, the sight did not shock her. Jenn… Jenn’s body… sat back with the jaw agape, but the eyes shut peacefully. Her upper head and neck seemed to have no injuries to it, but several spots through her shirt bled red onto her white blouse.

“It just happened…” Frieda said. She began to look around for any cars that might be someone hostile. “We need to get out of here.”

“We can’t,” July murmured.

Frieda heard her just fine, but she still questioned her.

“We can’t leave her!” July turned towards her. A new fire was in her eyes. “No one else is going to bury her! She’s a super! No one else is ever going to respect her but us.” July's voice was desperate, but firm.

Frieda frowned and shook her head. “But she’s not like us…” Frieda paused looking around to compare the different supers there now. They were all vastly different than Jenn. “She…”

“She’s a super.” July asserted herself. “She’s one of us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! We come back swinging here at Cirque de Masque. Back to (typically) everyday posts.


	103. Lively

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren wakes up in a new car with Aki, Hwan, Tadaaki, and Kev.

Kieren woke with a start. He sat up fast enough to strike a match. The car didn’t help as it lurched him forward.

A glare was thrown toward the other passengers in the back seat. Tadaaki and Hwan both reared back away from him with his look.

“Where’s Isamu?” Kieren asked. He wasn’t impressed by the faces that the two of them gave. Kieren figured he would have to be friendly in order to get what he wanted. Kieren turned up a smile and attempted to soften his eyebrows. He reaffirmed, “Isamu.”

“He’s not here,” Aki turned around from her spot in the front seat. She shared a scornful look with him.

“He _should_ be here,” Kieren snarled at her. “He should be around when I’m hurt.” Kieren wanted to smack the faces of everyone who doubted him. “He’s _my_ boyfriend. It seems most of _you_ seem to forget that.”

“You’re lucky Eryk was around,” Aki’s nostrils flared. “Any of us would have left that damn taser in your face.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Kieren barked in her face. “You don’t even know me!”

“I know you enough,” Aki shook her head before turning around. 

“Ugh!” Kieren shouted. As he did, a stream of flames escaped his throat. 

“Holy shit!”

“Knock it off!”

“You want us to crash?”

“Lolias was right,” Aki whispered, barely under her breath, yet Kieren heard it just fine.

“Right about what?” Kieren’s tone was stark and defensive.

Aki turned around. She gave him a look up and down before she answered, “You don’t give a damn about anyone but yourself.”

Kieren shouted again as he launched himself forward to the seat Aki sat it. He wrapped his hands around her throat. “How can you say I ‘don’t give a damn about anyone’ when you literally hate me when you don’t know a _damn_ thing about me!”

Kieren didn’t let the yelling of the others or the various arms pulling him back distract him from yelling at Aki.

That fucking giant. It was all his fault everyone was treating him like this. As if he was some kind of bad guy? Kieren would show him! Kieren would show all of them!

Something tangled around Kieren’s face, blinding him. He recognized the sound of the aggressive stretching of plants. Kieren released fire through his hands, feet, mouth, and anything he could to combat Tadaaki trying to hold him back. He snarled before he whipped towards him.

But before Kieren could go on defense against Tadaaki, the tires screeched with a terrifying noise. Kieren’s body lurched with the sudden change in speed, but that was it before he was hit with something hard on the head.

The sudden shock felt like lightning strike through the top of his head and down his spine. He tried to call out a cry of pain, but he wasn't conscience for another second.


	104. Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It rains on Bea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick moment of humanity for a girl.

It hadn’t stopped raining. It was raining so much it started to hurt. Bea's knees hurt from sitting in wet mud that was laced with rocks. She wouldn't dare to imagine how Ellenor was feeling. 

She took a glance towards the woman that was laying in the muddy ground. Bea couldn't bare to look at her with the eye on her forehead that cried along with the rain.

Bea hugged herself tightly as she turned away from her. She heard babbling from the body behind her. It only made her cower away more. It scared her. 

She was all alone, out in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, in the pouring rain, with a woman whose body was disconnected from her mind.

Her hands started to tremble against her chest. She knew it wasn’t that cold outside, but she was wet and afraid, and it was enough to make a girl shake.

Bea thought back on herself in the moment. She had thought herself to be the most powerful super in the world. Yet, here, with a useless leg and a little rain, she was undone. She was completely alone.

She shuddered when the wet hair on her ears brushed her neck. She shook her head in a way that had her looking back at Ellenor.

The purple eye stared right at her. It made her uncomfortable too easily. As soon as she made… eye contact… with it, vivid colors flickered all over it. It cried and cried while Ellenor’s mouth continued in babbling. It was all entirely incoherent except when Bea finally caught something.

“Tadaaki,” More babbling followed the name. “Kieren…” Bea wasn’t even sure if she was hearing it, or if her brain was hearing what it wanted to. “Aki…Kev,” Ellenor’s breathing sped up to be fast and short. “Tadaaki, Kieren, Kev.” Bea couldn’t deny it. She had definitely heard all of the names from Ellenor. “Kev, Aki.” Bea only grew more uneasy. 

Ellenor only continued to speak through the rain. Bea only continued to fill with fear. The little girl shook her head while she smacked her hands over her ears to drown out the noise.

“Dead,” Was the last thing Bea heard then, the murmurs stopped. The eye shut. But the rain wouldn’t stop pouring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it was crying in the rain, how could she tell it was crying? Excellent question.


	105. Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is debris

The crackling and popping that indicated burning fire woke Kieren up. He gasped in a breath as though he hadn’t in days. His breathing continued to sputter as he curled in on himself on the muddy ground. With clenched fists, Kieren’s nails dug into his palms while he tried to catch his breath and relax.

While he continued to wheeze, he inspected the area around him. Besides the pouring rain, it was hard to see anything from his spot on the ground. He forced himself up. 

Once he stood, he staggered on his feet. His right ankle hurt too much to stand on. He grit his teeth as he attempted to turn around. He followed the sound of the cracking fire as he did.

Turned over behind him, was the car that he once saw Wolt driving, but more importantly, saw Kev driving. The thing was ablaze in multiple places. Kieren stared at the flames until spots appeared in his vision. He wondered if the car would explode like they always did in his favorite action movies.

A massive gasp drove Kieren's attention away from the burning scene. Coughs followed the gasp. It was loud and overdone. Kieren squinted through the darkness and rain for the overreacting person.

He had to move across the soaked ground with a limp in search of the other person. While he did, glass and metal shards threatened to puncture is already torn shoes. There was debris all over from a crash he could barely remember. He tried in the moment to trace his memories, but his head started to throb the second he remembered hitting it.

The coughs that Kieren once heard were followed by pleas to deities. Even though Kieren had never heard those kinds of words from that voice, he recognized it. As much as he wanted to avoid it, he limped through the mud to get to them.

“Tadaaki?” Kieren called out. He thought he was close enough to see him, but he still couldn't. Through the sound of fire and rain, Kieren could still hear the sound of Tadaaki's power growing plants all around him.

Around his throat, ankles, wrists and torso, Kieren was bound by the weapons at the will of the other man.

“You killed them!” Tadaaki shouted. His voice sounded like knives had stabbed it. “It's all your fault!”

Kieren released a breath that was laced with flames. He directed it towards the vines around his neck so that he could speak. The vines shriveled and smoked to retract from Kieren.

“What are you talking about?” Kieren glared at him. “I was defending myself against Aki! You saw her!”

“How dare you blame this on her!?” Tadaaki's grip grew tighter. “You killed her!”

“You're right, it's not her fault,” Kieren agreed. “It's Lolias's fault. He's the one who made her like that.”

“How can you be so calm?” Tadaaki asked through his tears. “Do you not feel remorse?”

“Remorse?” Kieren cocked his head. 

Tadaaki's eyes grew more glossy as he gawked. “Do you feel nothing?”

“I was attacked,” Kieren assured.

Tadaaki dropped to his knees. The plants around Kieren loosened and fell with him. Kieren collapsed too, avoiding standing on his sprained ankle.

“What's wrong?” Kieren asked the somber Tadaaki.

He didn't look up from his bowed position when he spoke, “You don't know.” Tadaaki's heart thumped to match the beating of raindrops on the ground. “... How many people have you killed?”

“What?” Kieren asked. The rain picked up and started to pound harder.

“How many people will you kill?” Tadaaki's mind raced. He knew what he had to do.

The next moment, Tadaaki was back on his feet. He rose his hand up to control the plants beneath the man on the ground. But he was no man. He was a monster.

The plants were an extension of Tadaaki’s own body. He used his ability to pin Kieren down to the ground. Kieren shouted in confusion.

“I thought we had a truce!”

“I would never make any agreement with you,” Tadaaki said sourly, but he was sure Kieren couldn't hear him over everything else happening.

Tadaaki willed plants to encase Kieren's throat. He tightened his grip in hopes it would end it faster. He watched Kieren struggle in his vines. He couldn't even cough, the grip was so tight. Tadaaki could see his eyes rolling back and his face going red. Too fast, Tadaaki's gut dropped, his heart clenched, and his mind elapsed.

Tadaaki released his will on the plants once again. He heard Kieren sputtering and gasping for breaths. “I can't do it…” He whispered to himself.

Soft hands were around his own neck in a second. Kieren toward over him with his viciously long wet hair. Tadaaki gasped and choked for breath. To his surprise, breathing wasn't very hard and Keiren’s grip wasn't all that tight. However, the fear and adrenaline induced provided completely compensation.

“I'll make a deal with you,” Kieren's voice was calm, but that made it all the more terrifying. “If you don't tell anyone what happened here,” Kieren brought his face too close to Tadaaki’s for comfort. In the viel of Kieren's black hair, Tadaaki saw how his eyes had a slight glow to them for the first time. “Then I won't kill you. Deal?”

Tadaaki considered standing his ground, not yielding to him, but he figured his death would be in vain.

Tadaaki nodded.

“Good.” Kieren was off of him in a heartbeat. “Now, how are we going to get to Norway?” Kieren asked as though nothing had just happened. 

Tadaaki wondered if it was a rhetorical question, but Kieren shot him a look. “Uh… we could hitchhike.”

“Just like in the movies.” Kieren smiled as if remembering an old friend. Tadaaki grimaced. At least this way, he could warn everyone else about the true Kieren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> psychopath  
> /ˈsaɪkəˌpæθ/  
> noun  
> plural psychopaths
> 
> : a person who is mentally ill, who does not care about other people, and who is usually characterized by apathetic, violent, antisocial behavior


	106. Selfish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eryk and Sachi fall asleep. July and Frieda stay awake.

“Now that we only have Ellenor to find,” Eryk stood in front of the small group. “We can all get together in the same car. That way, we'll have both your powers to sense anything you can pick up.” 

Frieda had relayed all this to Eryk first. She had told him what she thought they should take as their next step. Following, she asked him if he would present it to the others. Frieda felt like July didn't take her seriously. Then Sachi and July were obviously good friends. She figured that they would take Eryk more seriously. Even though he assured her that she was respected by them, he still did as she asked.

“I can't sense anything when all July is thinking about is boys,” Sachi teased. July’s response was a laugh accompanied by a shove. “And girls, and girls,” Sachi laughed while he reassured. It was as though they were children. 

Frieda watched the scene fondly. The moment made her feel old compared to them despite seeing July’s medical file and knowing July was only three years younger than her. She reminisced to a time when Ellenor and herself could tease each other. She didn’t know if she could ever act that childlike again.

Frieda volunteered to drive first. She did so since she knew Eryk was a wimp when it came to speeding. While Frieda was the last person who wanted to be pulled over, she still didn’t want to go any slower than she had to.

The moment they were in the car, Sachi was fast asleep on July’s shoulder in the middle seats of the Sequoia. The sweet boy’s face was puffy from the tears that streaked down his cheeks. His empathetic attitude towards everything made Frieda admire him.

Eryk was asleep fast as well. He sat up front in the passenger seat. His breathing was rugged and taxed, but he slept through it. As much as Eryk had put out that he was wide awake, Frieda had a feeling that no one that took the detour to Deauville Beach was the slightest bit rested.

That left the two girls of the small corp awake. Frieda couldn’t tell if she was imagining it or not, but she felt as though the car was full of a terrible tension between them. She considered turning on the radio, but her inner unease caused her hands and eyes to remain plastered in their placement.

However, she couldn’t deny the elephant in the room forever.

“What was Jenn trying to show you?” It was July that broke the silence with her question. Frieda frowned. “On her phone. She was trying to show you something.”

Frieda blushed hard. “I don’t know…” Frieda had known herself to be brash lately, but she could feel July’s judgement beforehand.

“They were news articles,” July informed her with salt laced in her tone. Frieda was even more embarrassed that July had known the answer and was putting her to some kind of test. “Jerricho told me that they were articles about us. You didn’t even bother to ask before you freaked out on her.”

“I was scared…” Frieda tried to defend herself. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Are you sure about that?” July snapped at her. “Because it seems to me the only person you’re worried about ‘getting hurt’ is your wife.” The tension was growing along with Frieda’s temperature. “How many other times have you acted before thinking?” July was calling Frieda out left and right. Frieda’s shame was turning to regret. “Why would you punch someone and then send them to their death? Did you think they knew Jenn was a super? She was sent home after a broken leg, of course they wouldn’t show us the same kind of pity. Haven’t you noticed that we’re being kept alive? They want to use us, that’s why they have tasers and not guns. But Jenn? Jenn’s was an insignificant human only in the way.”

“I’m sorry!” Frieda pleaded with the younger woman. “I wasn’t thinking, you’re right.”

“You don’t think about anyone but you and Ellenor. Did you even remember that Bea is missing too?” Frieda’s heart stopped. “You keep telling us to sense Ellenor, sense Ellenor. Did you ever think that maybe we’d be able to find someone that’s been living with us for years rather than someone we met two days ago?”

Frieda’s mind was blazing with all the things she had done without thinking. Disabling Ellenor’s dampener, breaking the lense that recorded Ellenor’s visions, trusting random drag queens just because she couldn't carry Ellenor alone, and punching Jenn in the face.

“I forgot Bea…” Frieda whispered to herself. Once her mouth was open, it poured out the neverending guilt she felt. “I put everyone in danger… I ignored you…” Frieda’s heart started to pound inside her chest. Her final regret laid on her tongue, but she couldn’t bare to hold it anymore. “I killed Jenn…”


	107. Hitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hitchhiking.

Kieren stood next to the highway perhaps a little too excitedly. He kept his thumb out towards the road with a big smile plastered on his face. Tadaaki stood back away from the road staring at him. He wasn’t happy with the company he had to stay with. He figured their chances of getting picked up were slimmer with Kieren at the helm, but he didn’t want to question any authority Kieren had for fear of the fate he’d share with anyone else who defied him.

Tadaaki was ready for defeat. He should have let Kieren kill him before now. There was no way that they were going to make it to Norway. At least if he were dead, he wouldn’t have to deal with traveling with a psycho. 

“Tadaaki!” Kieren shouted. It jarred Tadaaki out of his thoughts and made him jump from the crossed arm stance he had taken two meters away from Kieren. Kieren bounded up and down with delight as a car slowed while pulling off the main road and to the shoulder where Kieren stood. Tadaaki released a massive breath. He couldn’t believe anyone would help them. “Now,” Kieren smirked and whispered to Tadaaki. “What type of movie do you think we are in?”

“What?” Tadaaki hissed at him.

“Are we gonna get some hot guy, or a creepy old dude?”

“Dude, this isn’t some kind of sick fantasy of yours!” Tadaaki scolded Kieren under his breath.

“You two need a lift?” A tall man stood next to his car from the driver side door. His height made his car look even lower to the ground than it already was. His hair flowed in strawberry waves past his razor-sharp cheekbones, behind his ears, and down to his broadened shoulders.

“Hot guy…” Kieren told in a fluttery voice to Tadaaki before hurrying to the car. Tadaaki slumped his shoulders and followed. “Hi!” Kieren greeted the man. “Yeah, we do.”

“Where y’all headed?” The man raised a cocky eyebrow. Tadaaki couldn’t believe any of this was real. He wondered if he was in a horrible dream after dying in the crash.

“We’re headed to Norway, but we’ll go as far north as you can take us,” Kieren explained to the man. Tadaaki was disgusted at how flowery Kieren forced his voice to be. 

The man gave a laugh. “You should get your friend to come too,” The man teased to Kieren. “Don’t be so shy, sweetheart.” Tadaaki flared his nostrils. He wouldn’t forget his pride enough to act like the persona Kieren showed. 

“Don't mind him,” Kieren told him. “Just a little motion sick.”

“I see,” The man nodded in understanding. It scared Tadaaki how easily Kieren lied and then how willingly the other man believed him. “Your friend got a name?”

“Yeah,” Kieren smirked. “So do I, you know?”

“Oh really?” Tadaaki was gagging on the atmosphere the man was trying to make. “Enlighten me.” It was even worse that Kieren was playing along.

“I'm Kieren, and that's Tadaaki,” Kieren said his name when he finally reached the car.

“Well hop on in, Kieren and Tadaaki.”

Tadaaki wasn't the least bit surprised that Kieren took the front seat without question. He took the back seat for himself. He figured he could lay down and get some rest while Kieren took care of any communication.

Once they were driving, conversation between the two continued.

“I've never heard names like yours before. Where are y'all from?” The man inquired.

“I’m Korean,” Kieren told. “Tadaaki is from Japan.”

“You sure are a far way from home.”

“I haven't been home in years, I don't know about him. Where are you from, mister?” Tadaaki recognized the line from a stupid Hollywood movie.

“I got a name too, you know?” The man mimicked Kieren. “But you can keep calling me 'mister.’” Tadaaki was certain now. He was in a hellish limbo. He stared up at Kieren as the Kieren giggled like a teenager. “It's Joey.”

It was then that Tadaaki finally saw Kieren faulter. Kieren's face turned sour with disgust. Tadaaki was taken aback. But the moment the man looked back at him, he was bright and cheeky again. Tadaaki didn't think that Kieren was acting at all, but now he was glad he was. Before then, he had been thinking of how he'd have to tell Isamu that Kieren cheated on him with some random guy. 

“Oh jeez,” Joey uttered while he looked into the rearview mirror. Blue and red lights lit up the darkness. “Sorry, guys.” He shook his head as he pulled off the road. “I hate pigs…” It was silent. 

“Let me handle it,” Kieren offered with a smirk.

Joey laughed. “You do have a charm to you.”

There was tapping on Joey's window. He rolled it down.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” The officer glaced at the two in the front seat. “Where are you headed?”

“I’m headed up to Hanover,” Joey told him with compliance.

The officer shined a light right into Kieren's eyes.

“You all seem like a fine bunch,” The officer complimented despite Kieren's glare. “But we're doing some checks tonight, I hope you don't mind.” 

“Has something happened?” Joey asked. He seemed to only be stalling a search to his car.

“You've heard all those rogue medic stories?” The officer leaned down to rest on the window frame. “All those supers haven't been caught yet.”

Joey scoffed. “Damn freaks, ruining it for the rest of us.” Tadaaki's blood ran cold. Tadaaki had experienced the hatred towards supers when he was in the army, but now, in a different country, he didn't know if he should something or to hide. Worse than that, he didn't know what Kieren would do.

“You're alright, mister…” 

“Rothweiss,” Joey answered.

“Hey,” The officer perked up. “German too.”

“I'm kind of a full package,” Joey boasted.

“Alright, I'll let you all off the hook. You just call in if you see any supers.”

“No problem, sir.” The two nodded to each other and they were back on the road.

Tadaaki sat rigid with a fear that he knew the driver couldn't sense. He didn't know whether to run or to fight, so he froze, but he was quickly melted.

“What the hell, Joey?!” Kieren shouted. Tadaaki rushed to grab Kieren to hold him back. His hand was on Kieren's arm, but Kieren didn't even show he noticed.

“What?” The driver continued his flirtatious behavior despite Kieren. “I handled it.” 

“I don't give a shit what you handled, you bigot!”

“What?” Joey scrunched his nose. “You're one of those liberal sympathizers aren't you?” 

Kieren let out a disgusting yell. “No, I'm not!”

“Pull over,” Tadaaki commanded Joey in a calm manner.

“He let us off, you should be grateful.” Joey acted like he deserved something for his actions.

“Fuck you!”

“Pull over,” Tadaaki tried.

“I'm helping you and you're treating me like this. You're the one in the wrong.”

“Pull over.”

“You are going to pretend that everything you just said was okay?”

“Pull over, now!” Tadaaki screamed at Joey. Before they were even completely stopped, Tadaaki strolled out of the car. He moved to throw open the driver's door. He roughly grabbed Joey by the shoulder and tossed him into the grass.

“What the…?” Joey was in a daze from bring jarred around.

“Pin him down, Tadaaki,” Kieren rolled past him and menacingly towards Joey. Tadaaki glanced back where the officer might still be. “Tadaaki!” His body went stiff as he faced Kieren. “Don't make me go back on our deal.”

Tadaaki nodded, bowed his head, and hurried to get in front of Joey.

“Listen, man,” Joey put his hands up. “I'm a lot stronger than I look.” 

Tadaaki squinted at him. “I don't care how strong you are.” Tadaaki willed the grass below to envelope the laying man.

The gasp he released was terrified beyond belief. Joey strained his arms against the plants.

“You're a super!” Joey proclaimed. Tadaaki considered how he could bind the man's mouth shut. 

Kieren rolled up to Joey's face and crouched to his haunches. He pointed a single finger at the man's face. Joey stared unimpressed. Then, a small flicker of fire came from his index finger.

“Don't kill him!” Tadaaki pleaded. Kieren looked up at him with the most rage filled look he had seen yet.

“You want people like this out in the world? You think people like this change?” Kieren shook his head. “People like this is what caused the draft, the war, and this mass hate across the world.” Fire blazed to cover Joey's face. Tadaaki couldn't watch.

“Let's go,” Kieren demanded once the sound of fire stopped. Tadaaki followed him to the car. 

He sat in the back seat to make sure Kieren couldn't see the defiance he wanted to use.

"I think we're in a vigilanty movie," Kieren commented after what felt like hours of silence. Tadaaki cringed. How could he possibly think they were doing the right thing?


	108. Rumble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lolias's stomach hurts.

Lolias’s stomach hurt. He wanted to cuddle with his bear more now than ever, but his stomach hurt so much he couldn’t hold any position except curled in.

The truck had stopped for extended periods three times now. Yet, no one came to open the back, no one knocked to check on him, and no one called his name through ringing of silence.

Lolias tried to sleep, he couldn’t. He tried to speak, he couldn’t. He tried to hold on, he couldn’t.

Desperation filled Lolias’s mind. He would drop to his hands and knees and beg for the eggs and sweet beans he thought he loathed. He would listen to any of the inarticulate children if it meant human interaction. He would yell out in pain if it meant he could hear his name.

Lolias felt the truck roll to a stop. His mind begged for them to stop and give him some water, but the truck quickly took off again. He had completely blanked on the idea of stop signs and traffic lights. His mind was blanking on a lot of things.

Then, the truck slowed. Lolias felt a turn. Then, a stop. The truck was turned off. Lolias was ready to cry tears of joy, but his mind tore him apart. _Why would they help now after never even thinking before?_ Lolias closed his eyes. It was no use.

Metal clanked rapidly. Lolias’s eyes popped back open.

“Lolias!” His mind was in heaven, hearing someone else’s voice for the first time in what felt like days. It wasn’t just any voice though.

“Isamu…” Lolias fluttered his eyelashes at him.

“You haven’t checked on him at all!” Isamu ran into the semi, all the way to the back where Lolias laid. “Get him some water, now!”

“Isamu…” Lolias was in absolute ecstacy to see him. “You came for me.”

“Are you okay? When was the last time you ate?” Isamu was panicky with him.

“You brought me eggs…” Lolias smiled like a dope.

“This is unacceptable. It must have been two days…” Isamu shook his head. “He needs some food, come on.”

“Isamu,” Lolias repeated over and over. “You’re so beautiful, Isamu.”

Isamu’s frustration finally cracked with a smile. “Don’t flatter me. Have you been sleeping? Why are you so delirious?”

“I can’t sleep…” Lolias closed his eyes. “The silence is too loud.” Lolias felt the sweet touch of small fingers on his cheek. He opened his eyes back up to see the dream that was Isamu.

“It’s okay,” Isamu comforted.

Isamu then stood when two others hopped into the truck. Lolias snatched Isamu’s small wrist with his thumb and pointer finger.

“Don’t leave me,” He pleaded. His eyelids started to feel overly wet.

“Lolias…” Isamu’s face turned down to one of pain. “I don’t want him to hurt you.”

“Please, Isamu,” Lolias turned to begging like he knew he would. “Please, stay with me. I can protect you.”

Isamu’s lip quivered. “I’m protecting you.” Isamu’s wrist slipped from his grasp.

Paul handed Lolias a gallon jug of water. Lolias didn’t want it in the moment, but knew he needed it. Wolt brought him a slimy looking sandwich that could sit in the palm of his hand without any issue. He didn’t want it. He didn’t want any of it. He wanted Isamu to stay and talk to him, to keep him sane, to keep him… Lolias felt tears brimming over his eyes. … To have him.


	109. Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It smelled good.

It smelled good, but in a strange way. Every breath in felt so good, it was hard to let it go. It tasted good too. The atmosphere danced on the tongue. Taking enough in at once formed small droplets on the tongue. It must have been thick. Every drop was swallowed in a delectable gulp.

There was nothing being held to the ground and no ground to be held to. There were no walls to be contained in and nothing being contained. It was liberating. 

It was so plain and bleak, and so, so lonely, yet absolutely comforting. While there was nothing to touch, nothing to feel, there was still a softness to every piece of space, if it could even be called space.

Ecstasy was the only constant in this place. It was addicting from the beginning and only grew more natural as time passed.

 

The empty ecstasy was broken. Once it was full of loneliness, but a presence could be felt through the eternity. It felt as though it had never been there until that moment, but had been there waiting forever. The presence felt like a protecting force. It reached out, but the distance was so great, fear struck that they'd never be together. 

They touched. Their beings stretching through the eternal emptiness to somehow come together. 

Images flashed too fast to see, but somehow, they didn't need to be seen, they were already known.

Frieda was crying. More than anyone had ever seen her cry. She was in an absolute panic. She leaned over a body. A horrible, terrifying body. The skin was discolored, puss brimmed around massive cuts, twisted legs redefined unnatural.

Ellenor vaulted herself up, gasping. She lurched to sit upright as she hacked out a massive amount of water straight from her lungs. Her nose burned with a dried out feeling even though her breaths were full of moisture.

She doubled over herself as her body continued to convulse against her will. She couldn't stop the vigorous movements despite how it pained her. 

“Ellenor!” Bea shouted. Ellenor tried to find the small girl by looking around vigorously, but her vision was taken by stars. “You're awake!”

“Barely,” Ellenor rasped. It hurt her to speak after her coughing fit. She squinted around. “Where are we?” The pitch black darkness didn't help Ellenor one bit.

“I… don't know…” Bea admitted. “I panicked when I Popped, I'm really sorry! I--”

“Hey, hey” Ellenor comforted. “It's okay.” She reached her hand out. “At least we're together.” Ellenor held Bea's hand in her own. She felt the little hairs on the back that were slightly wet. While Ellenor consoled Bea with a positive attitude, she forced herself to ignore the tingling pain she felt in her upper right leg.


	110. Sepsis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some examples of Sachi's power.

Sachi was awake, but he remained resting on July’s shoulder. It was too serene to let go, for he knew the moment he made a noise, he’d be placed back into the reality where his circumstances where only getting worse. He took a deep breath in. He wanted to be happy that he was with his friends, but he could feel the crushing weight of the situation. They buried the body of someone Sachi had been living with, and if they didn’t hurry, they’d have two more graves to dig.

He wanted to cry at the thought of more dead bodies. Not only of an incredibly strong general, but also of a fragile young child. He felt like he didn't know either of them at all. Remembering them would be hard if all Sachi could recall was their discolored dying skin. Sachi's heart ached but the thoughts didn't stop. It was hard to think of anything else when the thoughts around him were just as pessimistic.

Sachi could hear July's mind within his own. It was so garbled and confusing that he was sure she was just as confused at her own feelings. It was like static snow of a TV, but if Sachi listened close, he could pick out the different noises. Her confliction between idolizing and castigating Frieda continued. The want to help others overpowered her need to protect herself, but that intuition still yelled to her.

Eryk's thoughts were quiet, just as he was, but they were just as intense. He had been in the army, but he had never seen a dead body like that. Sachi could hear that same dread he felt the moment he walked to up to the old white truck. He was silent, but the same repeating of the same notes and rhythms continued in his head no matter what. He wanted to speak up, but he knew he would break down the moment he did.

Frieda's mind called out the most of all of them. She was full of guilt. Sachi heard is as crashing waves in a major key. She needed to say sorry to someone, but she didn’t know who was left. Her fear stabbed through the waves in splattering noises periodically. Even though she remained silent on the outside, her wants called out for some kind of comfort. Noises of bubbles popping sounded as though her overall readiness for the worst case scenario was breaking through any of her other emotions.

_Wait_

The popping continued.

Time stopped. Sachi couldn’t hear anything except for the popping. It sounded out louder than anyone else’s thoughts.

“Bea!” Sachi shouted. He scrambled up to the center console of the car to be in between Eryk and Frieda. He pointed his arm out the windshield straight forward. “It’s Bea, it’s Bea, she’s right there!”

“Where? Where? Where?” Frieda’s voice cracked as she begged him for an answer.

“She’s out there!” Sachi pointed right off the road, towards what looked like a massive field that had lumps all over. The clicking of the turn signal sounded through the car. “We found them! We found them!” Sachi shouted. His eyes grew watery as his happiness overflowed.

“Sachi,” July’s hand was on his shoulder. He turned to her. When the two made eye contact, Sachi’s smile fell. July’s expression looked overly worried with her brow furrowed and her lips downward. “I don’t feel them…”

The popping sounded more and more, each popping of a bubble released another emotion, but next to the noises that were the telltale sign of the young girl, there was a sound of silk and satin rubbing together. The fabric whooshing together did so at such different volumes that Sachi had only heard one time before.

“Ellenor…” Sachi whispered. Sachi hurried back to Frieda’s side. “They’re in pain,” Sachi told her, “We need to hurry.”

Frieda sped excessively down the exit ramp. Sachi could catch his breath, he was too excited. They had somehow done it. It felt like they’d been searching for days, but they were finally there.

The car was put into park barely after it was stopped.

“Be careful,” Eryk called. “They’re still hurt!” But Frieda was already jumping out of the car. Sachi was right on her heels.

The two sprinted through the field, but it quickly deteriorated into a hard wet surface. Their footsteps became louder as the mud was kicked up under their feet. 

“Bea!” Sachi shouted. “Ellenor!” He picked up his pace as their minds were louder than anything else. His longer legs allowed him to pass Frieda with no problem. He moved past the mound of a massive burned down building and his excitement got ahead of him. 

He slipped and slid across the muddy ground to get to the back side of the presumed building.

“Sachihiro,” He heard a new voice. It was inside his head along with everyone else’s, but it didn’t make noises, it spoke. “To your left, Sachihiro.”

Sachi quickly looked over. He saw two much smaller masses laying on the ground behind the other. 

“Bea!” Sachi shouted. He ran towards the smallest form.

“Huh?” A dazed confused mutter came from the distance.

“It’s Sachi,” He jogged to them. “I’m here to help.”

“Sachi…?” The murmur continued.

“Sachi!” The second voice came from the other mass. The voice was beautifully smooth like the mind that accompanied it.

“Ellenor!” He rushed, closing the distance immediately. He dropped to his knees. His emotions overcame him once again. His tears flowed down his cheeks. “I’m so glad you’re alive.”

“Ellenor?” Slow footsteps approached.

A huge sigh sounded from the sweet silk. “I knew you’d come.”

Frieda dashed towards her. Frieda grabbed Ellenor with an embrace that was only fit for two lovers. Through the darkness, Sachi could still see their happiness.

Ellenor cried out. Frieda backed away from her instantly. Sachi’s heartbroke when the moment was over.

“What’s wrong?” Frieda pleaded.

Ellenor glanced down at herself. “I’m getting infections…” Ellenor spoke under her breath. “It showed me…”

“What showed you?” Frieda tried. 

The slit on Ellenor’s forehead opened to reveal a massive, purple, shiny eye. “It.”

Everyone was silent for too long of a moment. The sounds in Sachi’s minds filled with the different sounds each of the other women emitted from their fear.

“We need to get out of here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, am I right?


	111. Cruelty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Protect yourself.

Tadaaki slept peacefully. He dreamed he was back at the barn with all his friends making their makeshift performances. The feeling through the air was beautiful. Tadaaki could feel that everyone was happy. He felt like he was Sachi.

His dream however, was cut short. A strange unnatural voice woke him.

“Tadaaki, Tadaaki, Tadaaki!” 

He gasped as he sat up in the back of the car. “What?” He looked around to find the voice.

Kieren turned around from the driver’s seat. His eyes gave off a slight glow. “We’re getting pulled over.”

“Shit,” In an instant, Tadaaki was wide awake. Tadaaki looked around. “They’re looking for us stil… This isn’t our car, oh, why? We… I just…”

“Tadaaki,” Kieren turned around. He shook his head with a smile. “We’ll just kill him.” Tadaaki heart stopped. Kieren wanted him to kill another person… to make him even more of a murderer. “I think we make a great team, we could take out anyone! We’re like superheroes!”

“Kieren…” Tadaaki looked around, considering to lower his head, but he knew Kieren needed to know he was serious. “I can’t do this anymore.” Tadaaki had to force himself to hold eye contact with him. “It’s wrong, you know this is wrong.”

“We’re protecting ourselves,” Kieren defended himself . “There’s nothing wrong with self defense.”

“But at what cost?” Tadaaki tried to get his point across.

There was a knock on the window.

Kieren narrowed his eyes at him. “Fine,” His voice was tainted with bitterness. “I’ll take care of it myself.”

Kieren rolled the window down. “Sir,” The policeman acknowledged him. “You’re supposed to keep your hands on the wheel.”

Kieren cocked his head at him. “Why is that?”

The man squinted at him. “You aren’t carrying any weapons, are you, sir?”  
“No!” Kieren smiled. “No physical weapons.”

“Is that a threat?” 

“Yes.” Kieren’s twisted grin made him sick.

“Sir, please step out of the vehicle.”

Tadaaki clenched his fists. He couldn’t stand to watch this. “Run.” Tadaaki leaned forward to make eye contact with the officer. “Run.” But he was too late.

Kieren’s jaw unhinged, releasing bellowing heat. The man made a yelp, but that was the only noise he made as Kieren took his life.

“See,” Kieren turned around. “That wasn’t so hard.” He smiled to Tadaaki.

Tadaaki covered his face. “Kieren,” Tadaaki needed so badly to get away from him. “The dash camera. It recorded all of that.”

Kieren’s smile fell. He looked down as though contemplating everything. 

“I’ll burn the car,” Kieren said, shaking his head, hopefully at himself. He stepped out of the car and towards the still flashing police car. Tadaaki released a huge sigh of relief. He laid back down, praying he could sleep again.


	112. Idol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two idols in the same place.

Eryk gently laid Ellenor into the row of seats furthest into the car.

“I told you,” Bea pounted. “I can sit just fine!” The little girl whined about wanting to sit upright instead on laying.

“There’s plenty of space for you two to lay, there’s no reason that you need to sit,” July chided her.

“Your tendons are snapped,” Frieda explained. “You shouldn’t stretch them anymore than you need to. You need to lay, even if you don't want to.” Bea pursed her lips and pouted, but was compliant.

July lifted Bea into the car gently, laying her where she and Sachi had sat.

“We'll get them some food and then continue on the E47 until we get to the ferry. I think that's when we'll take another break.” While Eryk explained that plan, Frieda and Sachi nodded along. July joined into their little circle they had formed. “I think if you and I stay up, we can keep driving without stopping.” Frieda gave her agreement. “Alright, let's get going.”

They dispersed. “Wait,” Frieda called. “July…” July frowned before she turned to face the woman again. Frieda bit her lip as though she wasn't sure what to say. “Can you… Can you watch Ellenor for me?” July widened her eyes. “Just sit back there with her, for company, make sure she stays on the seat, if her eye opens, tell us what you see, that kind of thing.” July didn't realize that her mouth was agape until she nodded to Frieda. “Thanks, I really appreciate it.”

Frieda went to the driver's seat without another word.

July turned her head and covered her mouth with her hand. She felt the heat emitting off her face. She climbed into the back with Ellenor. 

Unlike Bea, Ellenor took up all three of the seats in the row. July paused. She could sit with Ellenor's feet sitting in her lap, but the woman's legs were so messed up, July didn't want to touch them and risk making anything worse. She blushed hard as she moved Ellenor's head to rest on her thighs. Her eyes fluttered slightly, but they didn't open. July couldn't shake the flush from her face. 

As much as July admired Frieda, she adored Ellenor tenfold. Ellenor was not only one of the most powerful generals of all time, she was a woman, an activist, and a super. Who didn't idolize her? She was exemplary for all generals.

To add on to attributes, she was absolutely gorgeous. Even with mud littered about her face and hair, she was still a living dream. A living dream was right on July's lap. Her elegant long hair framed her fit face. Her lips parted to breathe and formed a sweet pout. The nose on her face had a defined point to it and it suited her perfectly. 

“Hey, Sachi,” July whispered to the body sitting in front of her. “Could you ask for napkins?” Sachi was handed tiny tissues that the previous owner of the car had left after he asked for them. July took them with a nod and smile.

She dabbed one of the small cotton textiles on her tongue. She gently wiped it on Ellenor's face. Her eyes fluttered completely open at the touch, only, all of her eyes opened. They all stared at her for a moment before her lips split into a smile.

“Thank you,” The woman mouthed. Even the eye on her forehead creased at the corners to emphasize her expression.

July didn't notice that she was holding her breath or how stiff her body was until she spoke. “You're welcome.” 

Ellenor's face relaxed as she shut her eyes again. Her smile was gone and she seemed to be resting again. As soon as she was, July's heart started again. She went to rub the soot off of Ellenor again.


	113. Royalty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete’s mind screamed at him to turn around.

Pete’s mind screamed at him to turn around. He continued north, like he was told to by Frieda, but he had no desire to do so. He wanted… he needed to turn around and head south. Unlike Frieda’s plan, Pete’s would be rational. There were ways to avoid tolls, ferries, and people if they went the other direction, but no, Frieda deemed her home to be the safest place.

It was obvious to anyone who thought for longer than a few minutes, that Pete’s home would be the most optimal for all of them. Not only was Pete’s family beyond rich enough to take care of every super with them on their journey, but he was royalty.

The only issue they would have with returning to the government there would be that they needed to overthrow it. Pete had no doubt that his sister, Gabrielle, had completely taken over to reinstate the ideals of their conservative parents. However, it was completely possible that the people had taken matters into their own hands and made themselves into a republic of sorts.

Certainty overwhelmed Pete at the thought of toppling whoever sat on the throne. Especially with all of their combined powers and abilities, they would be able to take the castle by storm or by subtlety. It was only that now, they were all separated. 

Pete was only doing what he was told, to move on without others. By doing so, he was keeping himself and everyone he was with safe. They were going to be tracked easily with their defining features and stolen cars, so staying in one place for a long time was not an option. 

His desire to turn around only grew. He kept telling himself that it was for all of them. That they could all live in a palace, that they would all be well fed, and that they would all be treated properly. Pete would even go as far as to instituting them all into the royal family. Pushing down the yearning for his home, his old life, and his spouses, he told himself it was for everyone.

But then Gabe awoke.

The young boy let out the smallest yawn that was so high pitched it rung. Pete glanced backwards to see his droopy eyes blink heavily. 

A pang struck in Pete’s heart and traveled through his entire being.

For the sixth time in the hour, Pete envisioned his partners all together with their own children.

His knuckles turned white. He made sure to hold onto the wheel so tight, to keep it in place, so that he wouldn’t turn it around on the spot.


	114. Inquire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was approaching five in the morning.

It was approaching five in the morning, nearly sunrise. It had only stopped pouring half an hour ago. Eryk was at the wheel then, Frieda had fallen asleep the moment she had sat in the passenger seat. Sachi and Bea both seemed to slightly cuddle together. Bea’s breathing was rough and loud, it was good that she was getting some real sleep. Sachi didn’t seem to have any problem with the noise as he laid peacefully.

July sat with her elbow propping up her chin next to the window. She stared out hoping to see the whole sun too instead of the glimmer on the horizon. She felt like she hadn’t seen the sun in days, even though she had gone to witness it rise on the beach.

“What color is the sky?” July was surprised by a voice. She jumped slightly, but promptly looked down to Ellenor in her lap.

“It’s still pretty dark…” July glanced out to make sure.

“But,” Ellenor’s three eyes opened. “Shouldn’t there be purple, and pink, and yellow even?”

July gave a slight smile. “Yeah,” Her eyebrows came together as she turned her gaze back to the outside. “I can only see blue.”

“Maybe you just need to look a little longer,” Ellenor suggested.

July tucked in her lip to bite it. “You saw something,” She said quietly. “Didn’t you?” She turned her eyes back towards the woman to hold eye contact.

“I see lots of things,” Ellenor replied.

“I mean…” July looked towards the horizon, wishing she could see the colors. “On the beach, with Lolias, I mean…”

Ellenor quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t understand.”

“You have…” July hesitated and cringed at herself, but she didn’t stop. She pointed at the purple eye. “That…” Ellenor furrowed her brow. “So, you have visions? Did you see something happening on the beach, with Lolias and Isamu?”

“Oh,” Ellenor barely gasped. The top eye immediately glossed over, already brimming with tears. “Yes, I did.”  
July regretted bringing it up. “Are you alright?” 

“I suppose you want to know then, what I saw, I mean.” Ellenor’s strangled voice made it hard to not take back what she had asked for, but she had to know.

“I do.”

Ellenor closed her eyes. Streaks rolled down from either side of her third eye. “Lolias was reported to the police,” Ellenor explained. “They came to take him away, to whisk him into the army, but he fought back. They tranquilized him like some kind of animal…”

“Oh…” July’s heart hurt seeing Ellenor like this. She hated herself for resurfacing the memory. “I’m sorry.”

“But, they profusely shot at him,” Ellenor continued as if she didn’t even know July was there. “They shot dozens of sedatives into him.” The eye opened. “He kept fighting.” Images in horrifyingly brilliant colors flashed over every piece of the eye. “They killed him. He overdosed on opiates two minutes later. They didn’t care,” Ellenor’s voice turned shaky.

“Ellenor,” July tried to pull her out of a sort of trance.

“They dragged him off,”

“Ellenor,”

“Poked his body with needles,”

“Ellenor!”

“Threw him away like he was nothing.”

“Hey,” A gentle but guttural voice comforted. July gasped as she looked up to see Frieda’s face obscured by her golden orange hair. She gently touched Ellenor’s face with dainty hands. “It’s okay. Everyone’s okay… You saved them.”

Ellenor’s face twisted in pain. “But I couldn’t save Aki, or Kev, or Hwan…”

July ignored the yellow sunlight beaming into her eye. She wouldn't dare look away. She couldn't even move. It seemed everyone had that same idea. No one spoke, not even breathed. 

“What?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think soon, (the next two or three chapters) I'll do a chapter devoted to basic character information. Since this convoy, if you will, has so many people, I figured it would be a good idea to just give a jist of every super currently traveling. I'll go ahead and include details about those you already know, since specifics aren't exactly given. Each description will include name, age, power, and a little tidbit about themselves. If any other characteristics should be included, let me know. I'd be happy to update it after it's done.


	115. Resonance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tadaaki felt like he was being dragged.

Tadaaki felt like he was being dragged down towards the ground by hands that had snagged onto his eyes. He couldn't sleep, it was impossible. Fear overtook his mind, forcing him to stay alert.

A sickness boiled within Tadaaki's blood, germinated into the deepest corners of his mind. People were dying left and right and no one knew but him. The culprit was a beaming young man that sat with indefatigable posture as he smiled out the windshield towards the approaching horizon.

Tadaaki tried his best to avoid looking at him for any given period of time. Kieren only made the nausea buildup. It was getting harder to hold back the bile that threatened his throat.

No one else knew what it was like to feel so heartless. Tadaaki felt as though he was the most cold blooded man alive. He was tired of himself.

Tadaaki slowly shut his eyes, allowing his paranoia towards Kieren rest so he could too.

A few seconds afterwards, a scorching note broke the silence. A few more followed.

Tadaaki opened his eyes to see Kieren's pursed lips being the source of noise. He continued the swift repetitive melody to himself. Tadaaki was enchanted by the sweet sounds. It was a nostalgic feeling, yet Tadaaki couldn't place the memory.

“What is that?” Tadaaki asked. 

Kieren didn't stop his whistling until he finished the verse to answer his question. “Isamu used to sing it for me,” Kieren smiled with a cherished look out the window. “He said it helped him focus on his feelings.”

Pain resonated into Tadaaki's heart just as Kieren's song did in his ears. He remembered Isamu humming the song to himself when they would sleep in close quarters. 

Kieren sang. “ _You never know, what you don't see, what you might want, high in the sky, just out of reach, wondering slightly, holding on tightly, you never know, what you don't see._ ”

Tadaaki knew the verse was over, and that the steps of roots, thirds, and fifths was complete, but there was something that left the tune unbalanced and unresolved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting, I'll get my shit together


	116. Character Bios 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren and Tadaaki

********

Full name: Yangson Kieren (양손  키에렌)

Nationality: Korean

Known Power(s): Pyrokinesis

Age: 24

Major Trait: Apathetic

According to Kieren, there is no time in his life that he couldn’t remember not having his ability to manipulate fire. When his freedom was threatened by being sold to government researchers, Kieren attacked his family. After living alone for presumably twenty years, Kieren was taken in by Isamu. There, he learned most of his basic social skills through movies. He was moved to the farm in Vaudherland after Isamu asked for him to be helped.

 

Full name: Ichiro Tadaaki (一朗  ただあき)

Nationality: Japanese

Known Power(s): Florakinesis, photosynthesis

Age: 25

Major Trait: Disposed

Tadaaki was born to the rich and prestigious Ichiro family, gracing his life for glory. Tadaaki was raised with private tutors and personal lessons. Alongside his brother and sister, the young man rose up beyond the already high expectations for him. All of them being the top of their classes, and prodigies in their own design. However, at age 20, just after entering college and still living from home, Tadaaki discovered his abilities. His family was content with keeping it secret, but Tadaaki took the opportunity for another chance at a different honor. Tadaaki allowed himself to be drafted, gladly meeting others like himself.


	117. Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieda had been asleep.

Frieda had been asleep, so Eryk made the executive decision to stop for an early lunch. It was approaching eleven-thirty, and they were nearly to the ferry. Eryk felt extremely accomplished by covering so much ground and finding all the missing supers.

When Frieda was woken up by Eryk, everyone else was already eating. Eryk took the liberty of waiting as long as possible not because she would argue about covering as much ground as possible, but because she needed all the rest she could get.

It wasn't anything special they were eating. Eryk had simply snatched a loaf of bread and a brick of cheese. While the younger few scarfed down their food, Ellenor ate slowly and meticulously. July took notice and was genuinely embarrassed. She slowed herself.

Ellenor rested on the concrete ground, with her legs straight out and her back propped up against the concrete of a large garden bed. Sachi sat cross-legged on the ledge that the mulch garden provided. July crossed her legs next to Sachi on the ledge. Bea floated slightly above all of them.

Frieda rubbed her eyes in an attempt to wake herself up. When she placed her glasses back on her nose, she noticed a spottiness to her vision. She wasn't impressed when she cleaned the lenses with her shirt and the spots remained. Scratches obscured her vision from being perfect with the help of her glasses. As much as she wasn’t surprised that they were scratched from her many endeavors, she was disappointed that she had no way to get them replaced.

A single bread slice with a single slice of cheese was handed to Frieda as she sat with her legs hanging out of the car with the door open. Eryk simply nodded to her before he sat down in silence. He wasn’t much of a conversationalist. 

Frieda knew it was pathetic, but she was happy to have the simplistic meal. She couldn’t remember the last time she ate. She supposed it was when Jonesy had caught some fish for all of the drag queens and herself to eat. She let out a heavy sigh and took a bite. 

“She likes to talk about you,” A voice jarred Frieda out of her mind. Even though she knew the voice like any other, it still surprised her. Sachi spread a sweet smile that made his eyes crease up. “I can feel it, in her mind.”

“You startled me,” Frieda said back to Sachi. She readjusted her glasses and the cheese on her bread.

His smile didn’t fade. “Sorry,” He plopped down on the ground in front of her. “She gets so giddy about you.”

Frieda sighed and shook her head. She let herself smirk just a little. She’d love to just sit back and relax, but she didn’t mind talking with Sachi. “You’re talking about me, or something?” Frieda teased.

“How could I not?” Sachi looked to the sky as he wrapped his arms around himself in a personal hug. “I love the way it sounds when she thinks about you.”

Frieda raised an eyebrow. Sachi’s power continued to confuse and intrigue her.

“It sounds like the hands of the ocean caressing the wisps of silk,” Sachi’s face was blissed out. “It’s the calmest I’ve ever heard her.”

“What do you mean?” Frieda asked. Even though she felt curious, she knew it was because Ellenor was filled with anxiety with the sight of the future.

“Her silk is so smooth and beautiful, but sometimes, it moves so fast it’s scary.” Sachi looked down to the ground. He seemed to be lost in an awful memory. “But!” Sachi perked up immediately. “When it’s calm, it’s this incredibly sweet softness, I can’t get enough of it!”

Frieda looked off towards the others that sat around the tall concrete garden bed. She did so just in time to see Ellenor’s face crack a smile and then laugh. Despite Ellenor’s yellowed bruises and busted and cracked lip, she was still stunning with her smile.

“Do you love her?” Everything seemed to go absolutely silent except Sachi’s voice. Frieda looked back to him.

They had never talked about it. They had been married for a few months now, but they hadn’t had much time alone to talk since Ellenor was constantly under observation, even though they had been promised otherwise. Frieda and Ellenor had known each other for… years now. Yes, they were fond of each other from the very beginning, but they never defined themselves as dating until after the Marshal used the word ‘girlfriends’ towards them. The fact that Ellenor proposed to her was absolutely a shock to Frieda. Frieda assumed it was the near death experience that prompted her to want to get married, but they had both respectively thought that their futures would be spent with the other. Of course neither of them could have predicted their lives leading down this path, but they were still together.

They had never talked about it.

“It’s okay,” Sachi placed his hand on Frieda’s ankle. Frieda was quickly brought back into their conversation. She was zoning now out more than ever. She guessed that she needed to finish eating. Frieda cut her thoughts short, remembering that Sachi could hear her mind. “I understand.”

“Thanks, Sachi,” Frieda smiled sadly down at him. “I should--”

“But,” Sachi cut her short. Sachi titled his chin up, a cocky smirk changed his expression. “You do.”


	118. Crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tightness in Isamu's chest was causing him physical pain.

The tightness in Isamu’s chest was causing him physical pain. His heart hadn’t stopped racing ever since he stepped inside the compartment that held Lolias. He supposed it was because of the excitement and anxiety of seeing him.

But did Isamu feel that way when seeing Kieren?

There was definitely a nervousness to seeing both of them, more so after the events at Deauville Beach. He was sure he wanted to see both of them, but it was getting harder. Kieren would just get mad if he was with Lolias, and Lolias was sure to be disappointed if he saw him with Kieren.

Isamu's head hurt.

There was a complexity to it all, there had to be. However, when it came to it, Kieren always said “He's my boyfriend,” and it was the end of it. Isamu couldn't find himself seeing it that simply. Isamu was Kieren's boyfriend, not Lolias's, but thoughts of Lolias were so constant they were tangible. 

Isamu's stomach clenched.

Isamu wanted to see Lolias, and wanted to see Kieren, why was it so hard? He felt an obligation to favor Kieren, since they were dating, but Lolias brought a whole new happiness to the table.

Isamu's head got cloudy.

It was hard for Isamu to like someone. He hadn't really liked anyone before Kieren, never found an interest. He had no intention of liking anyone else… the Lolias came. Tall, handsome, caring, gentle, sweet, loving Lolias.

Isamu's jaw tightened.

Isamu had fallen in love with Kieren before the war.

Isamu's brow trembled.

Isamu met Lolias after…

Isamu rubbed his left shoulder, down to where his arm was meant to be.

Kieren loved Isamu. Lolias wanted to run away with Isamu.

“Isamu!” Candy shouted from the passenger seat. Isamu was jolted back into the moment, reminded that he was operating the vehicle.

The walls turned to an off white. Isamu was trapped in a room with one window and one door. Bricks made the corner he placed himself in. Sachi cried his name, Hwan closed his eyes, Tadaaki turned away, Lee looked right at him.

“Isamu!”

He quickly turned the wheel, positioning the car into the proper lane. His breathing was rapid and short.

“You don't have to drive,” Candy offered. “I'm sorry if you felt like you had to…” Candy tried to apologize, but she had no idea what was going on.

Isamu pulled off to the shoulder of the road. He put the car into park and stared right out the window. A sense of dread filled his mind. He had been so hopeful that day, positive he would survive. But he did. 

Isamu covered his face as he released a sob. He survived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case this is confusing, which I'm sure it is, Isamu hadn't been in an enclosed space since that day he got hurt by the bomb. The back of the semi was a trigger for him, since it had no way of escape but one. Candy shouting his name, like Sachi did, was the final blow for him going over the edge.


	119. Ferry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone rested. Except for Frieda.

The car rocked gently on the ship to that had to sail a short distance, yet it was a long way. Everyone was asleep as though the ocean was rocking them all just as a mother would. All of them truly rested for the first time in a while. It was much quieter than driving, very gentle and calm. Except for Frieda.

She leaned over the railing that kept her from the water below. Her arms were crossed as she balanced her weight on them.

Out in the water, there were lights of buoys and other ships. Frieda gazed out at all of them with half-lidded eyes. Her mind was racing all about Ellenor. While she was used to that, this was different.

It was Sachi who had brought up the topic of love. Frieda never needed it, never thought about it. She was certain that Ellenor didn't think about it either.

They weren't children. They didn't need to be reassured that they cared deeply for one another. They both knew that they would do anything for the other.

Then why was this eating away at Frieda?

It's a simple, stupid, made up, four letter word. Everyone from a child to a mother, to two high school sweethearts said it to each other. It was overrated. It was foolish. It was ridiculous.

How could you possibly define the way you feel about someone in one single short word? How could you say the same thing to your child as you do to your sister, the same thing you say to your best friend as you do to your lover?

It was ridiculous.

Frieda looked out to the water.

It was ridiculous.

A purple light shined through the rest of the glimmering yellow. It was distant, but bright.

Frieda parted her lips. Uncertainty was her mindset, but her heart forced her.

“I love you.”

It barely escaped her lips. It was quickly caught by the wind and taken far away.

She shook her head. Ridiculous.

She made her way back to the car. She should be sleeping like the rest of her carpool.

She hopped into the back, sitting with Sachi after Bea wanted to sit up front. She went to close her eyes as she leaned her head against the window.

She would have been asleep in a moment, but a shock sounded in her head. She recognized the feeling from the time Ellenor had a vision at the Singer gas station.

She opened her eyes and looked back.

The third eye upon Ellenor's forehead had opened to reveal its shimmering purple beauty. It was wide open and alert, but Ellenor had to blink the grogginess out of her original eyes.

A goofy smile was on her face when she made eye contact with Frieda. The wrinkles of happiness made it all the way through Ellenor's face, and the third eye seemed to crinkle in joy just like the rest of her expression.

“I love you too.”

“You're awake…” Frieda barely breathed.

“I'm sorry,” Ellenor smiled so sweetly. “I'm really not used to this. If I knew it was bothering you so much, I would have done anything.”

Frieda shook her head again. “No,” She tried to think of the right words. “I don't want you to force it.”

Ellenor reached her hand out. Frieda couldn't force back a smile. Frieda placed her face against Ellenor's hand.

“I wish I had met you sooner,” Ellenor confessed. Frieda shut her eyes while holding Ellenor's hand against her. “You set me right.”

Frieda chuckled. “Patriot.”

Ellenor laughed too. “I love you, not my country.”

Frieda opened her eyes to see Ellenor blushing profusely. She made no attempt to hide it.

“I want to get married,” Frieda told her. “I mean, really married… not in a hospital bed.”

Ellenor smirked in nostalgia. “Me too.”

“On the beach,” Frieda added. “Lolias would like that.”

Ellenor shook her head. “We have quite the guest list.”

“I'm sure everyone you've saved would want to be at the reception.”

“Oh stop,” Ellenor chided. Frieda snickered. 

“You should get some rest,” Ellenor told her. She pulled her hand away to lay all the way back down on a sleeping July's lap. “As much as I've had, I want some more too.”

“Okay…” Frieda looked back longing for more conversation, but her eyes quickly grew heavy.

“Oh,” Ellenor paused. Frieda tried to open her eyes, but she couldn't anymore. “It says it loves you too.”

Frieda's mind faded into a dream.


	120. Character Bios 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellenor and Frieda

Full name: Ellenor Bethany Marie-Perime

Nationality: French

Known Power(s): Precognition

Age: 28

Major Trait: Brave

After predicting bizzare attacks on the Provencal army, Ellenor discovered her power. While these visions seem sporadic, Ellenor sees whatever tragedies happen to people she has met. When her superiors found out about her power, she was used to prevent any offense against them. However, she was discovered helping other supers out of the army and was imprisoned for crimes against the government.

 

Full name: Frieda Kinsey Perime

Nationality: Norwegian

Known Power(s): Electrokinesis

Age: 25

Major Trait: Brash

Despite not being able to put it to use, Frieda discovered her power quite early. One day, when inspecting a patient’s injury, she was roughly grabbed, causing static electricity. Frieda immediately shot it back out like a bullet. She kept her personal findings to herself, just in case it was a coincidence. In the end, she was discovered after destroying the computers that took advantage of her spouse. 


	121. Big

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lolias had trouble keep track of time.

The truck had stopped some time ago. They hadn't been moving for so long. Lolias had trouble tracking time, but he was sure it had been multiple hours by then. He could hear gentle talking just outside the compartment he was trapped in. He was sure it was Wolt and Paul, but paranoia still scared him into thinking of the worst case scenario.

Rattling sounded in Lolias's ears as the slats of metal slid open and folded together. A figure stood at the opening, allowing no moonlight to reach the back where Lolias had all his things set up.

The look Wolt gave him did not look promising. He was a quiet young man, yet he was about to bear some terrible news to Lolias. Lolias figured it was better him than Paul, since Paul was still uncomfortable around the people who were visibly supers.

“We can't take the semi on the ferry,” Wolt looked down at his feet. “They say it's too big, heavy.”

Panic struck quick and fast. Lolias's heart sank.

“What are you going to do?” Lolias asked him.

“Candy and Isamu are waiting for us…” Wolt explained. “We can catch a ride with them.”

Lolias's heart only continued to hurt. “Can I speak to him? Isamu, I mean…”

Wolt brought his eyebrows deeply together. “I'm sorry,” Wolt couldn't make eye contact with him. “Candy said something happened with Isamu, she didn't know what it was.”

“Then I should talk to him.” Lolias quickly scooted his way towards Wolt.

“Lolias,” He held a hand out to stop him. Wolt finally met his eyes. “She said he wouldn't talk to anyone… I don't think that's a good idea.”

“He'd talk to me,” Lolias insisted.

“Listen to me,” Wolt stood his ground. Lolias was surprised he could speak for himself with power. “Isamu has been through a lot, all too recently for him to be alright.”

Lolias sneered, “What do you know about him that I don't?” Wolt jumped back slightly. He stumbled, but kept his footing strong. Lolias's gut screamed at him. In the moment, fear struck like lightning in Wolt’s eyes. He looked at Lolias like nothing above a feral animal. Lolias closed his own eyes to escape the scene. 

“I'm not saying that,” Wolt explained with a new found calmness. “All I'm saying is that he needs time, okay?”

Lolias took a breath. “You're right,” Lolias shook his head at himself. “I'm sorry, I'm just…” Lolias searched for an excuse. He's been deprived of human interaction and food. He misses Isamu. He's sick of people acting as if Isamu likes them. But there was no excuse. “I'm just an asshole.” Lolias laughed. “I'm glad you're going with him.”

“Yeah, but how will you get across?” Wolt tried to get back on topic.

“I'll swim,” Lolias told him. He moved out as close to Wolt and the outside world as he could get. “I used to in high school.” Wolt said nothing in reply. Lolias hated the silence that only he shared. “How about you?” Lolias asked. “You into sports?”

Wolt laughed as if it was some kind of dry joke. “No, no,” He shook his head. “I'm more of a computer guy.”

Lolias climbed out after Wolt to stretch. He popped and cracked in places he didn't know existed.

“You know, Ellenor used to swim too. She said she had the record for--”

“The fifteen hundred meter,” Lolias smiled as Wolt frowned. “Three minutes, fifty-two point nine seconds.” Wolt raised both his eyebrows in surprise. “She was the best long distance swimmer her school had ever known, was terrible at short distance though. But you know, she gave it up her senior year to join the debate club. She wasn't that good at it.” Lolias relayed to Wolt all he knew about Ellenor's high school glory days. “She's kind of…” Lolias laughed. “My best friend.”

“Wow,” Wolt looked utterly amazed. “I didn't know you two even knew each other.” Wolt whispered “best friends” under his breath in astonishment.

“So,” Lolias changed the conversation’s direction. “After we cross, you'll get me, right? With a new truck, or something?”

“We'll see,” Wolt stood back and looked towards the opposing side of the docks. “Just stay under that pier.” He instructed. “Stay hidden, we'll get you when we can.”

Lolias undressed and gave his clothes to Wolt. They were the only clothes he had, leaving the other three articles at the barn.

Wolt left Lolias and the truck, taking his pride and dignity as he left to go ride like a normal person across the canal.

When Lolias sank into the water, the chills that filled his body were his only company. He shivered as the water lapsed around him. He walked for a while, but soon decided to keep his head under as much as possible. It was in the moments when he surfaced and was met only by the moonlight that he realized he was truly alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW! Everyone is feeling so many things right now! What a time to be alive? Posting is scattered because I'm working on Character Bios, I'll finish that as soon as I can.


	122. Character Bios 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul, Wolt, and Lolias

Full name: Paul Jeremiah Auriol

Nationality: French

Known Power(s): Radiation

Age: 24

Major Trait: Apologetic

Paul’s religious family had raised him to stay honest, confess, and beg for forgiveness to the power above. When Paul had his first boyfriend, he was kicked out of his home and wasn't allowed back until he had a girlfriend. When he did return, he discovered his power. His mother was crying in the kitchen when he touched her shoulder as a comfort. It was faint, but his hand radiated warmth. It wasn't until the next day that his mother had an imprint of his hand on her arm. When he was forced into the Provencal army, he discovered how his power worked. Those he felt strongly against, would get radiation poisoning from him. He never understood why he was a soldier if he had to meet every individual of the opposing side to affect them.

 

Full name: Treasach Wolt Hurly

Nationality: Irish

Known Power(s): Intent reading

Age: 28

Major Trait: Credulous

Soft spoken only child, Wolt, didn’t have many friends. He didn’t consider himself lonely kid, until later in life. It wasn’t until he discovered his power his senior year that he realized. When Wolt started to hear people’s intentions in his head, he told no one, but rather looked up to no named internet personas. Though Wolt had no desire to expose himself as a super, when he was drafted he went without a fight. He finally got to meet true super heroes. He never expressed this of course, he had no idea how to, but he looked up to all of them.

  
Full name: Lolias Jalcian Garcia-Diaz   
Nationality: Cuban   
Known Power(s): Height   
Age: 22   
Major Trait: Pompous   
Lolias was taken care of by his grandmother at a young age, never knowing what happened to his parents. He had to thank his good looks for his rise to fame. During the day, he was practicing his routine and by night he was finding the next person to hook up with. He knew he was well known and liked all over the country. That's why, when an anomaly came to him, he knew he had to leave. Any ability he might gain would be noticed by the public in an instant. Luckily, he knew a young liberal soldier that had a few connections. Lolias was the first super to arrive at the farm in Vaudherland.


	123. Fighter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren slammed his palm out in front of him.

Kieren slammed his palm out in front of him. Fire blazed out of his hand and through the air as he moved. He made simple moves, mostly palm strikes and punches, with the occasional kick. Tadaaki had no idea where he could have possibly learned any combatives through his social solitary life, but he was alarmingly good at it.

Tadaaki sat in the grass a couple meters away from the radius of Kieren’s movement. While he had no desire to even remotely be with Kieren or join his antics, but he had kicked off his shoes and socks as Kieren did.

It was a surreal moment to Tadaaki. He wasn’t in any danger and nothing was happening around him. Yet, he knew he wasn’t going to wake up and it be some kind of dream.

After holding his fist out for an extended moment, Kieren relaxed. He let his shoulders go loose as he placed his hand onto his hip. He looked at Tadaaki with a smile that caused the beads of sweat to roll down into the creases caused by it.

“You should join me, I could teach you,” Kieren offered with a beaming smile. Tadaaki didn’t understand how Kieren didn’t realize the tension Tadaaki felt towards him.

“How did you learn all that?” Tadaaki asked his burning question.

“Movies, mostly,” Kieren shrugged as it it was nothing.

Tadaaki looked down at the grass to stop Kieren from seeing his disdain. He fiddled with a piece of grass, wishing he could be like it with every passing moment.

“Come on Tadaaki,” Kieren approached him with too much energy in his gait. “You’re built for this kind of thing.”

Tadaaki looked up at him with his eyes squinting. Kieren had leaned forward with his hands on his knees, like some kind of excited schoolgirl. Tadaaki would blame the blazing sun for the hateful look he gave him, if he even noticed.

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t know?!” Kieren was genuinely surprised. “Broad shoulders, thick biceps, and powerful calves? You’re body is a fighter’s body!” Tadaaki would normally be embarrassed at the kind of praise, but he felt nothing when it came from Kieren. “Of course, you could work on that belly of yours, but other than that, you’re perfect!”

Tadaaki rolled his eyes, his body went with him. He turned away from Kieren. “I’m not a fighter.”

“Of course you are!” Kieren implored. Tadaaki wished the idiot would pick up on his social queues. “Not only your body, but your power too! You could easily take anyone down with those plants of yours! I think you’re the most powerful person on our team, well, except for me.”

“What team are you talking about?”

Kieren explained, “Well, all of us, of course.” Tadaaki looked at him, still confused. “You know, me, you, Isamu, Frieda, Eryk... everyone!”

Tadaaki upturned his lip. “We’re not on teams, Kieren, this isn’t a game.”

Kieren let out an aggravated groan. Tadaaki cringed, remembering last time he groaned in front of him. “That isn't what I meant.” Kieren finally turned away. “I'm just saying we're the strong ones, we should work for it.” Kieren seemed to be struggling with words, a sight that was new to Tadaaki. “...To protect ourselves!”

Tadaaki made his face parallel to Kieren's, facing the opposite direction. “I'm not interested.”

Kieren pouted as he huffed away from Tadaaki. He made his way back to the center of the small circle where he practiced the simple moves. He went right back to it. 

Tadaaki sighed as he flopped down in the grass. He looked up at the sun that was high in the sky, he let it beam on him as he absorbed its light.

He'd rather be alone with the sun, that would never speak to him, forever than Kieren, who couldn't seem to shut his mouth.


	124. Kept

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Candy "talks to" Wolt.

“Are you sure one of these is big enough?” Candy asked Wolt as he worked on the lock that kept the moving truck doors shut. Wolt tried to work with focus, but Candy's questioning was distracting. Her voice was normally sweet and enchanting, but in the moment, it was too loud and irritating. They had broken into a storage facility to steal one of their trucks and yet Candy spoke out loud as if they weren't criminals.

“I mean…” Candy continued at the same volume. “This is way smaller than a semi, but the semi was plenty big enough for him… how tall is he?”

“I don't know,” Wolt snapped at her. His nostrils flared and his lip upturned at her. “Can you please quiet down?” Candy was silent as Wolt looked back at the truck to work on the picking the lock. He frowned down at the hair pins that he worked on, but it was impossible to focus with the new tension between them.

“Jeez,” Candy said, planting her hand on her hip. “I was just worried about Lolias. I don't want to have to steal another car if he doesn't fit.”

“I'm not thinking that far ahead,” Wolt told her. “I'm just trying to get out of here.” After he sighed, he was able to focus back into unlocking the door.

“Kieren and July made it seem like this stuff was easy…” Candy commented. Wolt forced himself to not snap the pins in his hand out of irritation. “What do you think of what Lolias says about Kieren? I mean, July said that Lolias says it, but you know what I meant.”

“No, I don't talk to them.” 

“You're so weird,” Candy shook her head. “You hang out with Pete and Aki, yet no one else in that clique. I like to talk to everyone, at least a little, just to learn a bit.”

“Candy, please,” Wolt dropped his things, stood up straight, and hulked over her stout body. “I'm trying to work here.”

She cringed, slightly afraid, but quickly turned sour. “Fine, whatever.” She crossed her arms and leaned against the truck as though she had no interest in talking in the first place.

“Hey!” A booming voice yelled. Lights were aimed right at Candy and Wolt, blinding them. “What are you doing out here?!”

“Run,” Wolt hissed to Candy before he took of in an all out sprint away from the scene. The last thing they needed was to he arrested. He'd have to go back to the war. Probably be tortured until he told them where Ellenor was! The anxiety caused an adrenaline rush and he ran faster than he ever had before.


	125. Character Bios 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Candy

Full name: Kiersten “Candy” May Waterson

Nationality: American

Known Power(s): Caloric Control

Age: 23

Major Trait: Concerted

As a child, Candy was greedy, especially with food. It wasn’t until her teens that she started to feel bad about it. However, she didn’t feel bad about eating itself, no, it was the sharing. She wanted to share everything she had with everyone, but it was hard for her to give up the food. It was when she turned seventeen that a great power was bestowed upon her. Candy was able to change the caloric quantity of food, making tiny pieces of bread thousands of calories, or massive chocolate bars less than half a dozen. Everyone at school loved her and always had her “bless” their food. No one realized that it was a super human ability until a specific conservative teacher reported her to the authorities. When she was dragged off to war, no one helped her. She was one of people with Eryk and July to be sent to the farm.


	126. Absences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieda's mind was at ease.

Frieda's mind was at ease. It brought a sense of peace to Sachi. He listened to the waves of her mind, how they slowly moved against each other. It was a calm ocean with a slight breeze in the air, but it made no forces of aggression.

Sachi focused on the sounds of the beach that she emitted. He wanted so badly to fall asleep to it, but occasionally an especially loud pop would end his peace. A moment later Bea would let out a groan. The sound of Bea's mind reminded Sachi of all the sounds he was near. Of course Ellenor's silk, July's static, and Eryk's ticking could all be heard, but along the docks, more people rested. It was so loud, and Sachi was normally used to it, but he wanted to sleep more.

He would snuggle up to Frieda as close as possible if he could, but he wasn't sure she'd be okay with that. If he was closer, her mind might be the only one loud enough to hear and put him to rest. Not to mention he loved to cuddle and Frieda's small stature would be perfect for a nap.

Sachi had been working so hard to tune out every other person that his mind might be able to pick up, that he didn't even notice the voice until Ellenor shifted in the backseat. Sachi glanced back. His mind focused on Ellenor for a moment and then he could hear her plus the voice that sometimes came with her.

It was just mumbling, not intelligible, except for the occasional name that could be picked up. Sachi was going to ignore it, but then he heard his own name. His full name.Just like before, in the same voice, it articulated it with a scary precision.

Sachi looked back towards Ellenor, who seemed to be asleep without any disturbance, but her eyes moved rapidly under all of her eyelids… all of them.

He had heard it like that before, from the same voice that was constantly on the heels of Ellenor’s mind.

He stared at Ellenor, waiting to see her open her eyes and acknowledge him. He couldn’t understand how she had figured out how to speak with him using his power. Only she didn’t open her eyes and look at him. 

A single eye opened, the one that was upon her forehead. It stared deep into Sachi’s soul. Its purple hue made it all the more frightening. Sachi was going to look away, he wanted to look away, but he was too scared of it to try and defy the third eye. He knew it was just an eye, it had no leverage over him, and he had to keep telling himself that. He had to tell himself that it was just an eye, even though he knew it was the source of the voice that accompanied Ellenor.

He couldn’t make out any of the words in between, but he kept hearing his name repeated through the mumbling. He wanted to say something, tell someone, but surely they would proclaim him insane on the spot. It was Ellenor, he told himself. It was Ellenor. It was just Ellenor, but the look the eye gave him said otherwise.

After the eye glossed over, looking as though it was blinking the tears out of itself, it shut and Ellenor's face was once again at rest.

Sachi moved closer to Frieda, for comfort, even though she still was asleep. Her mind offered him a quiet scenic place that took him away from whatever had just happened.

When so engulfed in the sound of Frieda's thoughts, Sachi didn't even remember his favorite mind to listen to. Until he heard it.

Through the thoughts and feelings of everyone surrounding him, he didn't hear the mind, rather, didn't hear it.

Sachi gasped as he shot up to sit up right. He could barely believe it. The sounds and thoughts had no comparison to the absence of sound that blared through the rest.

It was only during the war that Sachi had the luxury of being so near the silence. While on the outside, he sang to help himself to sleep, his brain blared a nothingness that helped Sachi to sleep.

Isamu's mind was the most amazing mind to listen to, for there was nothing to hear. Sachi had no idea how he did it, but Isamu emitted no noise from his thoughts. It was so loud, Sachi was intoxicated. He almost fell asleep upon hearing it, but he felt the need to tell the others.

“Isamu!” Sachi called out. A old sweet friend had come back to him. It felt like they hadn't been together at all since they arrived at the barn. Isamu had been busy with his weird love drama. Sachi wasn't jealous, but he wanted more than anything to lay down and sleep next to Isamu like they would have to on their long night scouting trips. Despite the sound of Hwan’s doubt and Tadaaki's anxiety, Isamu always put Sachi right to sleep.

“Where?” July asked while she looked around to spot him.

“I don't know, I just hear him,” Sachi elaborated.

July frowned. “Well, I don't.”

“Eryk, can we meet up with them?” Sachi leaned forward to the driver. 

He squinted skeptically. “I'm not sure, Sachi. We're all going to the same place, can't you wait?”

Sachi took a breath to argue, but a laugh stopped him. He widened his eyes and looked back to see Ellenor blushing brightly as she laughed.

“Why is Lolias in the water?” She shook her head as she held a childish grin. She opened her eyes that creased with her happiness. “They made him swim while they took the ferry.”

Sachi frowned at the comment. “Wait,” Sachi closed his eyes as he focused in on the other noises outside of his small known radius. “Wolt is with them? They must have ditched Lolias to team up with each other.”

“Isn't that what we did?” July commented. “It's fine.”

“But Lolias,” Sachi felt a little teary. “He can't be left behind.”

Ellenor brought her eyebrows together as she concentrated with her eyes shut. “You're right,” She told him. “They are going to struggle with a replacement truck.”

“Well, wasn't it you guys that got all the cars in the first place?” Sachi asked. “You could do it again!”

Frieda finally sat up and showed that she was awake. “I'm sorry, Sachi,” Frieda put a hand on his shoulder. “I don't think that's a good idea. Bea is too injured to do those kinds of things, she needs rest.”

“Besides,” July joined in. “We had Kieren with us.”

“They'll have to be on their own,” Frieda laid back against the window. 

“But… Lolias…” Sachi hated how callous everyone was being.

“Hey,” Sachi turned to Ellenor after she caught his attention. “It's okay,” She reassured. “Lolias is an adult, he can handle it. Besides,” The large purple eye opened. “They'll be alright.” Sachi couldn't shake the feeling, but he gave a nod. 

He worked his way to the other side of the car, away from Frieda, and closer to the noiseless thoughts of Isamu.


	127. Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look out, over the water.

Kieren stood looking out over the water. The rocks slid together in a wet rough noise. Tadaaki stood nearby, looking towards the opposing city on the horizon. 

They hadn’t said anything to each other, but they both knew that they were lost. Kieren wouldn’t admit it, and Tadaaki definitely wouldn’t call him out for it. 

Tadaaki had let Kieren take the reins. The megalomaniac couldn’t be satisfied, even if Tadaaki always yielded to him. 

“What now?” Tadaaki dared to ask. Kieren didn’t even turn towards him. He had to refrain from rolling his eyes.

“I don’t know,” Kieren said. “We need to get on a boat or something.”

“We don’t have any money.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Kieren snapped. He sighed after Tadaaki took another step away from him. “We could rob a place.”

“I don’t think a robbery would bring the attention we need.”

“I mean a small place,” Kieren circled his hand as if it would help him think. “Like a convenience store or something.”

“It’s not as easy as the movies make it seem.” Tadaaki immediately bit his tongue. He didn’t want Kieren to pick up on the passive aggressive comment.

He didn’t. “If you won’t help me, I’ll do it by myself.”

“I’m sure you would, but it’s reckless,” Tadaaki tried to warn him. “I think we should go the non-risky way, we can just swim across. It shouldn’t take that long, and if something happens, where we’re caught, we can claim ignorance, say we’re teenagers or something.”

Kieren was silent, something that Tadaaki wasn’t used to hearing. He dared to glance over to the other man. He stood blushing like an idiot. He crossed his arms and turned away from Tadaaki, hiding his face behind a curtain of hair.

The realization came all too quick to Tadaaki. 

“You don't know how to swim?” Tadaaki questioned. He couldn't hold back the laugh that swelled up in his throat. “Oh man, wow,” Tadaaki couldn't help himself from laughing out loud. “You're so badass, but you can't swim?”

“Shut up!” Kieren huffed at him. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Tadaaki suppressed his amusement to giggles. “We can rob a place, it's fine.” Tadaaki walked away towards their car. He couldn't wait to use this information to make fun of him with others. July would love this.


	128. Bush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Candy and Wolt hide behind a bush

“It hasn't been that long,” Candy placed a hand on Wolt's shoulder. “It'll be okay.”

“I'm not worried about Lolias,” Wolt shook his head. “I'm worried about us.”

The two of them sat behind a bush at the front of the storage facility. It was certain that they had already been caught on tape, but the man outside was still scouting. He had passed by them multiple times and missed them always. Wolt was grateful that Candy's vibrant hair had faded out, making them slightly harder to see.

“But we're okay,” Candy argued. “Lolias is alone, in the water, probably freezing.” Candy seemed to drift off into thoughts about Lolias.

“What about Paul? Or Isamu?” Wolt came right back. “They don't know what's going on or anything at all about us.”

“You're right!” Candy's eyes sparkled with worry. “Isamu just had that weird panic attack… I hate to leave him alone like this…”

“Especially with Paul,” Wolt covered his eyes, regretting his own decisions. “He's not exactly much of a talker.”

“I wish Lolias was here, he'd help them both, right?” Candy asked. “Or July… or Ellenor… or Jenn…” 

“What Ellenor are you talking about?” A different voice to the conversation made them both jump. They looked above the bush to see a scrawny young man standing with a broom in front of them. His bright orange hair spilled out from under a forest green cap that seemed to be part of his uniform. The uniform matched that of the older man that had been chasing them earlier. Wolt was absolutely frozen in place. They had been found, it was over.

“Ellenor Marie,” Candy answered him.

Wolt was about to hiss at Candy, but the young man spoke before him. “The dead general?!” The guy nearly shouted. “You know her?”

“She's not dead,” Candy stood up completely. “She's alive and she helps us supers.”

The man's eyes lit up. “I knew it!” The boy bounced with the broom in his hand. “They say not to believe rumors spread by supers, but my cousin in the army said so too!”

“Yes! Believe the rumors!” Candy encouraged him. 

“Wait,” Wolt jumped into the confusion. “You support supers?” 

The young man took a step back. Wolt's presence obviously scared him.

“It's dangerous to be open minded, those kind of thoughts will get you on the front lines,” Wolt warned him.

The man looked back to Candy. “Well,” he looked down, embarrassed. “I have a secret.” He held up his hand in front of his face. It morphed into a paper airplane, then a massive key, and then a shape that resembled the two liter bottle.

Wolt made a face. The idea of all those things made of flesh grossed him out. However, Candy was staring in awe.

“That's incredible!” She praised him.

“I'm not very good at it yet.”

Wolt scrunched his eyebrows together. “How old are you?”

“I just turned sixteen.”

Pain bloomed in Wolt's heart knowing if anyone found out, he'd be in the army in a second.

“I'll help you guys,” the young man offered. “You were trying to break into a compartment?”

“No,” Wolt corrected. “Actually, we need a truck.”

“We have this friend,” Candy explained as they all started a calm walk towards the trucks. “He's super tall! But get this, he does ballet and he's super cool.”

“He's a gymnast,” Wolt corrected. 

“What?!” The young man said excitedly. “You mean Lolias Garcia-Diaz?!” Wolt and Candy didn't answer. They didn't know his full name, had never heard it, yet this stranger said it like it was his own. “I thought it was lies, what the news says about him, but he's with you?!”

“I can't believe you know Lolias!” Candy was baffled.

“Is it the right one?” Wolt tried to justify.

“Of course it's the right one!” Candy smacked his arm. “How many people are named 'Lolias?’”

“You said he's a giant now?” The man asked.

“Yes! He's as tall as our barn!” Candy was way too excited.

“Wow,” The young man looked off in a dream even though Wolt knew he had no idea how tall the barn was.

Once to the trucks, the man pulled out a set of keys and opened the door. He gave the key over to Candy.

“These keys work across the nation, at every place with our brand logo.” He told them, “In case you need another. I'll distract Mr. Berg.”

“Wait,” Wolt stopped the young man from running off. “What's your name?”

“Ashley,” He said with a nod. “Ashley Holland.” 

When Wolt started to offer his name, Ashley held up his hand.

“I'll know your name when you're heroes.”

He ran off, leaving them with the truck and one hell of a story.


	129. The Foxtrot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> July pointed her toes out.

July pointed her toes out as she daintily took the next step forward. She gave as much spring as she could with the balls of her feet and launched herself forward. With her hands above her head, she caught herself in the sand before sending her body forward again to roll around once more. She stood tall and proud at the end of her cartwheel.

She sighed deeply.

As she pointed her arms to be perpendicular to her legs, she let them slide apart further behind and in front of her. She held her position as her body met the ground. She strained her arms as much as she could, allowing the muscles to tingle and burn. It hurt, but the split was satisfying

She dragged a hand through her hair.

She forced her entire torso toward her right hand. She lifted her lower body up to hold her weight on her palms. She had seen Lolias do this a million times, he wouldn't admit it, but it was his favorite move. She stood on her hands for a moment before attempting to curve her legs around, so her foot could meet her head. The weight shift was nothing like she expected. She couldn't hold such a difference more towards her fingers than her core.

She collapsed into the sand.

She let out an irritated huff as she smacked her fist down into the sand. It kicked up into her face, only adding to her anger.

Giddiness. Worry. Excitement. Sachi.

July looked up as Sachi approached her. He wore a big grin on his face as he skipped across the sand to get to her.

Excitement. Worry. 

July knew it was a weird combination, but it was Sachi.

“You're loud today,” Sachi told her as he plopped down on the sand next to her. 

She glanced away in disdain. “You don't say.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Sachi was sweet to her, but July wasn't having it.

Excitement. Worry. Giddiness.

“I don't know…” July looked off towards the water.

“It's alright,” Excitement. Giddiness. Worry. “You can always talk to me!” Excitement. Worry. Giddiness.

“Could you stop being so happy?!” July shouted at him. Sachi moved back away from her as she got into his face. For a moment, his mind went blank, but quickly it was taken over by an emotional avalanche.

Worry. Confusion. Doubt. Fear. Hate. Awareness.

July had to look away from the eyes that were welling up with tears. She bowed her head, ashamed. She knew she shouldn't yell at him, she was just frustrated.

“Is it about me...” Sachi's voice trembled. “... What's bothering you?”

“Sachi,” July turned back to him. “I'm sorry, I, I shouldn't take it out on you…” She shook her head. “It's your power…” July admitted. Sachi's emotions only called out more confusion. “You heard Jenn, and Ellenor, and Bea, all before me, and then with Isamu too…” July couldn't face him. “You're… you're…”

“July,” Sachi placed a hand on her shoulder. “We're the same. Same ability. Same power.”

“But you--”

“I'm sorry if I made you feel that way.” July was comforted by his words, but put more to ease when she could feel that reassurance in his emotions. “I should go back, you can keep working stuff out.”

July sat still as Sachi rose up and away from her.

“Is it helping?” She dared to ask him.

“Huh?”

“The exercise…” July looked up at him. “Is it helping me?”

Sachi laughed. Worry. Fear. Confusion. Giddiness. “Yes, you sound wonderful.”

July gave him a nod as he walked off. Soon, she couldn’t sense his emotions anymore. She was glad though; she had her own feelings to focus on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer, this is not a Foxtrot dance, I'm aware, it's named that way artistically.


	130. The Waltz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lolias pointed his toes out

Lolias pointed his toes out as he daintily took the next step forward. He pushed his foot down into the sand, swirling back around with his tall tight posture. He held his hands up as though there was someone accompanying his movements, but he knew, no one would be able to stand tall enough to match his steps. 

Gusts of wind pushed against Lolias over and over, threatening him to stay put, but he wouldn't. He continued his moves constricted by a three-four time signature.

Lolias's face was heavy with dispair. His mouth was pointed so far downward and his eyebrows brought so far together that his body told him it was time to give up. Yet, he stayed standing, three times as tall than what he used to know. He tilted his chin up towards the moon that was the only light source. This only maximized his already daunting height.

“Lolias!” Someone shouted through the air. He took a step to turn towards them, but didn't allow it to break his rhythm of dance. Wolt came running towards him, Candy close behind. He hadn't exactly met them before, but he knew of them. July liked to talk of everyone.

He immediately turned around, taking his step backwards. 

“What are you doing?!” Wolt demanded. “Someone could see you!”

“Come on, Lolias,” Candy said in a completely different tone. “You don't have to be alone anymore.”

Lolias took a few more steps. “Dancing.” Neither said anything. “I'm dancing.”

“You can stop now,” Candy said. “Let's go.”

“Why?” Lolias closed his eyes. “So I can be shoved into the back of a truck again? So I can be starved and dehydrated again? And be cramped for hours?” He moved to make sure his expression wasn't shown to the others. His prideful feelings were tearing at the seams.

“You won't be alone again!” Candy shouted, as if she knew he wasn't listening.

Lolias hesitated, too much. He decided he was crumbling enough to be seen, so he stopped.

“I'll stay with you,” Candy offered. “And I can feed you too.”

Lolias looked back at her. He didn't know much about her, they had never spoken directly to each other, but there she was, offering to stay with him in the cold darkness.

When Lolias actually looked, he saw that Candy had his only clothes draped over her arms. It reminded him of when his Gigi would bring in extra blankets.

“Really?” Lolias asked while he leaned down to her to relieve her of his clothes.

“Of course! That's my power after all!”

Candy's nature sent waves of emotions through his chest. He couldn't take it.

He buried his face in his clothes as tears started to streak down his cheeks. He was so tired of being alone. He wanted more than the moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, he wouldn't get out of the water until after dark, he's not that crazy.


	131. Effect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keep driving.

Frieda had been driving for hours. She was becoming numb to the asphalt for miles and miles. It must have been five hours since they last stopped. Although they had just been to the beach seven hours ago as a change of scenery, Frieda still hated the driving and needed a break. 

“Hey, look!” Sachi pointed excitedly from the back seat. His finger lead to a massive green sign that displayed the city name “Grålum.”

Relief overcame her entire being. They had made it and they would all be okay.

“July!” Ellenor cried out. Frieda looked back towards the back seat through the rearview mirror. “The window!” July opened the window as fast as it would move. Ellenor was covering her mouth as she coughed and sputtered.

Frieda had to look back to the road, but she could hear Ellenor retching out the window. When she glanced to them again, tears had streaked Ellenor's face as she struggled to keep herself from collapsing. 

Ellenor cursed profusely. “My leg, my leg…” Her body was twisted in such an unnatural way, Frieda was sure she was hurting herself. 

“Hold on,” July tried to help. July was slowly moving Ellenor's body so that she could lay flat again. Frieda was cringing as she watched, her medic instincts kicking in.

Once Ellenor was at rest again, Frieda could see the discoloration of her face. She was pasty green, the color that told of sickness. Her jaw was slack, her body looked completely limp, yet utterly still. Her eyes were her only movements, fluttering as though she was forcing them not to roll into the back of her head.

“Keep her awake,” Frieda commanded July. “We're almost there, fifteen minutes.”

Violent coughing sounded in the car, followed immediately by wheezing struggling cries. 

“I'm dying, I'm dying!” Ellenor's voice was sobbing and uncontrolled. She was in complete panic. 

“Frieda!” July called out. 

“I can't see!” Ellenor sobbed. When Frieda looked back, the massive purple eye had opened, tears were pouring out of it. “I can't see!”

Frieda could barely keep her composure. She ignored the yells from the backseat. She couldn't let the panic take her too. She grabbed the mirror attached to the windshield and twisted it as far as she could away from the others.

Eryk and Sachi's voices started to join into the others. Frieda blocked out the sounds as much as she could, letting it become a tumult instead of the noises of her friends in pain. Frieda gassed it.

They made it to the emergency room ten minutes later, just as the sun had set.

Frieda sprinted in, leaving the car on. She heard steps just behind her. She looked around for anyone.

The young girl at the desk stood up in surprise. 

“Miss Perime!?” She shouted.

“No time,” Frieda ran towards the operating room, grabbing one of the gurneys that was lined up along the wall of the corridor. Sachi was right there with her. They pushed it as fast as they could out to the waiting car.

The middle seats had been completely folded down, the door was wide open, and Eryk waited right there. Frieda ran in front of the gurney towards Eryk, leaving it to Sachi. She had to slam herself into the car to slow herself. 

In the back, July held Ellenor's wrists as tightly as possible, her knuckles were turned white. Ellenor thrashed violently as she cried. Her eyes were wide open, but it looked as though she saw nothing. The eye that rested upon Ellenor's forehead was moving too fast to even see its individual movements. 

“I'm dying! I'm dying!” She screamed in between every time she shrieked “I can't see! I can't see!”

“Eryk, help me!” Frieda commanded. Frieda took her wrists from July's hold and Eryk grabbed onto her legs, trying his best to keep them even and straight.

But Ellenor didn't help. She was completely frantic and unaware of what was happening. She thrashed as though she was trying to pull away from the hand of death itself.

They had to strap her down to the gurney in order to keep her from hurting herself.

Sachi pulled as Eryk and Frieda pushed.

Just as they ran through the automatic doors, four men ran in. Three in scrubs and the other in a tie with a lab coat on.

“She has multiple infections, broken legs, and I'm not sure but I think her femoral artery is torn,” Frieda quickly relayed everything that had happened to Ellenor.

“A super!” One of the men gasped under his breath.

“You idiot!” Another shouted at him. “That's Ellenor Marie!” 

Despite her howled cheeks, her ruined hair, and her panicked outbursts, Ellenor was still recognized.

“Get her to the operating room now!” The man in the coat ordered. The three men in scrubs took the gurney from their hands, but Sachi continued to help them push it. The man in the coat and Frieda jogged behind them.

“You're a criminal these days, Miss Perime,” He taunted her.

“Shut your mouth, Miguel!” Frieda curled her lip up at him. “This isn't about any rivalry between us!”

He didn't say anything for a moment. “...What happened to you?”

Once they were past the doors, Ellenor wasn't moved over to the table. She had to remain on the gurney in order to minimize the damage to her legs.

“Give her something to calm her down, penicillin and anesthesia,” Miguel was handing out orders to the nurses in the room. “Get me Doctor Chelsey down here. We'll need as many antiseptics as you can find.”

Frieda was putting on the proper attire in order to do as much as she could. It had been a while since she had performed any serious surgery like this. 

Ellenor's cries toned down to mumbles after the antiseptics. Although she looked to be slowly going to sleep, the purple eye remained open.

Frieda looked around, wondering if anyone would even understand. She gently brushed the side of Ellenor's face with her fingertips. “It's okay, I'll take care of you both.”

The mumbling stopped and the eye shut. 

“You know,” Miguel strolled up to her. “We're the top surgeons, you and I.”

Frieda held her gaze on Ellenor. “Let's just get this over with.”


	132. Calorie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lolias and Candy.

Lolias was grateful for Candy and her offers to be with him, but as he looked down at her opening a bag of salt flavored chips, he didn't understand why she was so hopeful. Usually, people exaggerated his size, giving him too much food, overestimating his height, or questioning is clothes, but Candy… Candy was underestimating.

She pulled out a single chip from the small bag and held it up with her index finger and thumb. She looked so proud up at it for a moment. Then, she offered it to Lolias, holding it up high to him.

Lolias gave a hesitant smile, but he humored Candy and took it from her. He glanced towards her, but she made no movements to grab another chip. She just looked at Lolias and waited.

He was embarrassed for her. She was great, and had good intentions, but it was getting a little weird for him.

After pretending to toast the chip, he placed it in his mouth. 

Flavor bloomed in Lolias's mouth in a way he could have never imagined. It was the taste of a chip, no doubt, but it was incredibly robust in its sweetness, saltiness, savoriness, and sharpness. Lolias was in absolute heaven.

Not only was the chip the most delicious thing he had ever experienced, but also, when he swallowed, he was immediately full, not wanting another bite.

“How'd you do that?” Lolias asked Candy after he had found the strength to not roll his eyes into the back of his head.

Candy giggled, “It's a blessing.” Candy wiggled her fingers to signal magic. Lolias laughed. “My power, I can change how many calories are in a piece of food. Somehow, it changes the taste too.”

“Wow!” Lolias imagined the possibilities. “You could probably make anything taste good.”

She shook her head. “Somethings taste weird, like meat and such, but salty stuff like this,” Candy gave the bag of chips a shake. “Are usually pretty good.” 

“How many calories did you give me?” Lolias asked out of curiosity. 

“Not sure,” Candy admitted. “That's the longest I've ever done it. I'm guessing ten thousand.”

Lolias was taken aback. Sure, he hadn't thought about calories since he had gotten so large, but now that he was mostly sedentary in the back of various trucks, he didn't want to have extra weight to work off.

“Well everyone needs two thousand, right?” Candy seemed to need to defend herself. “And you're… big. So, that's extra, and then you probably haven't had a real meal in a few days…”

Lolias held his hand up to stop her. “I appreciate it, really.” 

She absolutely beamed. “Want another?” Lolias couldn’t find it in his stomach to accept.


	133. Character Bios 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bea

Full name: ???

Nationality: British ?

Known Power(s): Teleportation, floating, lamb-like features

Age: ???

Major Trait: Proud

Bea was the first child taken to the farm in Vaudherland. She was deserted by her single mother after she started to show her super qualities. Bea had to become a bandit in the city of Paris in order to survive. She resigned in multiple empty flats wherever they could be found. Despite her content attitude towards her life, she went happily with Jenn when she offered her to go to the Vaudherland farm.


	134. Empathy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sachi's chest hurts.

Sachi's chest hurt. The pain wasn't from any of the feelings of others around him, but it was his own heart pounding.

His mind told him that there was nothing he could do, nothing to do. He wanted so badly to go be with and comfort Ellenor or Bea, but neither of them had woken up. 

They were in pain and he couldn't stop the pain. Even if he could comfort them, what would it do? It wouldn't magically fix everything. He couldn't fix anything.

A small gasp alerted Sachi's eyes towards the door. A tall nurse looked around the room with his mouth agape. When his see eyes landed on Sachi, he gave him an awkward smile.

At this point it was approaching two in the morning. Much of the convoy had already arrived and joined them in the room where Ellenor was put on a bed. Others went to the children's ward to give Bea company, but there was still more than a dozen people in the same room. The nurse was probably surprised by the sheer number of people, but once they had all fit into the den at the barn, piled up on the floor to sleep. 

It was dark outside, and everyone had been driving for hours, it was natural for them to be asleep. Sachi wasn't because he needed to be there for someone anyone.

It was too early in the morning. The nurse was caught too off guard. He shouldn't even bother.

He went to back out of the room.

“Wait!” Sachi called as quietly as possible. He kept thinking about the time they all slept in the den. “Could we have some pillows?”


	135. Character Bios 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sachi

Full name: Wantanabe Sachihiro (渡辺  サチひろ)

Nationality: Japanese

Known Power(s): Aura reader, partial pathokinesis

Age: 27

Major Trait: Compassionate

As a child, Sachi always longed for siblings. He felt like he struggled to connect with others, but it was all he ever wanted. However, when he turned nineteen, just after dropping out of college, he found himself hearing the people around him. He was able to connect with any given person on the street, even though he didn’t know which sounds were certain people. Although Sachi felt no exact obligation to join the Selenian army, he used it in order to find his place in the world. In his small squadron, he was able to find how his power worked and was able to distinguish separate people in his mind.


	136. Barred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feel triumphant!

Tadaaki’s eyes rested half closed, irritated on his face. “Great.”

He looked out from the dark cold murky stone room out into the well lit room through a face full of iron bars.

Kieren draped himself over the bars, his hair wet and messy all over his face.

“This wouldn't have happened if you could swim,” Tadaaki teased. He knew Kieren wouldn't use his power in front of the guard. Or maybe he would, but Tadaaki was counting on that he wouldn't.

It's not like it mattered anyway. They weren't going to make it to Norway on time like this.

“It really wouldn't have happened if you hadn't abandoned ship,” Kieren stated flatly. 

“No offense, but I don't think you could have talked your way out of it.” 

Kieren rolled his eyes. He stood and left Tadaaki's side. He strolled over to the small cot in the holding cell. Once he laid on it in a curled in position towards the wall, Tadaaki joined him on the floor against the wall.

“Tadaaki… Tadaaki!” Tadaaki jolted awake upon hearing his name. Kieren clapped his hand over his mouth. “Let's go,” he whispered.

Kieren quickly walked to the bars, igniting fire in his hand. Once it was a giant stream of flames, it solidified into a massive sword shape, with fire all around it. He took a swing, causing the bars to melt, looking like a professional fencer.

“Yes!” Kieren gasped as a celebration. He climbed out the hole he had made, tiptoeing out of the station. Tadaaki followed, looking to see the guard asleep at the desk despite all the things they'd done.

Tadaaki smirked. He couldn't help but feel triumphant too.


	137. Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Call it a draw.

Pete sat in the waiting room with Gabe asleep on his one shoulder and Vivian on his other. Pete watched as the news played on the TV above. Most of it was Norwegian, but there were certain things he could pick up.

The worst thing he saw, he understood. He almost choked upon seeing it. The leaders of the Provencal and Selenian army were standing, facing the cameras, shaking hands. 

Pete was ready to go run to get Frieda as a translator, but the next image horrified him. Hundreds of people, being escorted by soldiers in varying degrees of armed. While most were calm in cuffs, others were vigorously fighting against the people arresting them.

They fought with blunt force, yes, but one had their arms stretched around the soldiers in a way that could only be a superpower.

Pete ran through the hall, towards the room he knew belonged to Ellenor.

Frieda looked over to him with heavy lidded eyes. The TV in the room broadcasted the same thing.

“This war isn't over.” Frieda said in a tight broken voice.


	138. Hurting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Absences of sounds.

The absence of sound in Sachi's mind alerted him to the warm presence that was entering the room. Except when Sachi made eye contact with his beloved friend it wasn't warm at all.

 

Isamu’s gaze were cast downwards. His face looked as though it was being dragged downwards into the ground. He was standing behind Wolt and Paul as they spoke of their plans.

 

Sachi wanted to reach out to Isamu, but his expression looked so vacant that he didn’t know who he’d be reaching out to.

 

Though his face said it all, Isamu’s mind let out the same sound as always. Sachi couldn’t read him the same way as everyone else, but he knew Isamu well enough.

 

Sachi stood up from his spot on the ground, shrugging off the other supers cuddling onto him. He approached Isamu with haste, avoiding the other two with him.

 

He reached his arm out to touch Isamu’s shoulder, but nearly immediately Isamu raised his hand to guard himself from Sachi’s touch. Despite the low lighting of the room Isamu’s pupil shrunk to be absorbed by the brown of his eye.

 

“Sachi,” Isamu breathed, lowering his defense. “I didn’t realize it was you.”

 

Sachi mustered the best smile he could even though his eyes were already growing wetter. He bowed his head and moved in fast, wrapping his arms around Isamu. He heard Isamu release a breath, a sigh, before he hugged Sachi back.

 

“It’s okay,” Sachi wanted to say, “He’s not here.” But they couldn’t acknowledge anything. They all knew, Hwan, Tadaaki, and Sachi all knew that Isamu had demons, fire breathing demons, that he couldn’t get rid of. That he wouldn’t get rid of no matter what they said. But it was more than that. It was always more than that. 

 

Being in their scouting team was a sanctuary for more than one of them. They were lucky to not be put on the front lines like other supers, which is probably the only reason they were ever saved by Ellenor and Frieda. They were practically invincible with Sachi's power, except for the one time they weren't.

 

There were burns on the shoulder that was the only remnant of Isamu's arm. They weren't invincible and Isamu was the only one to protect them. What a cost he paid...

 

Sachi's mind was whirling around Isamu so much he barely noticed the return of silk and a voice. 

 

He pulled off Isamu to look towards the bed Frieda sat next to, but Ellenor was laying in.

 

The eye upon her forehead opened, followed then by the other two. 

 

“We're going to be arrested. Arrested like them all. They're all being arrested.” It went silent in the room to listen to Ellenor's quiet voice. “They're being taken away. All of them… the war. The war it's over. We lost.”

 

Frieda took her wife's hands in her own, burying her face in then. 

 

“We have to leave,” Ellenor told her. “We need to go.”

 

“I'm sorry,” Frieda remained calm. “But  _ we _ have to go.”

 

The moment of waves crashing in thoughtfulness versus the seconds of silk settling in confusion brought Sachi to the same realization as Ellenor.

 

“No,” Ellenor pleaded, her eyes going wide. “You’re going to leave me.” The purple eye started to blink rapidly, showing different images along with big glistening tears.

 

“All of us have already talked about it,” Frieda explained. “It’s for the best.”

 

“You don’t understand,” Ellenor grabbed Frieda’s shirt in two fists. “I need you.  _ We _ need you.”

 

“No,” Frieda grabbed her wrists and pushed her off. “You need time to heal. You and Bea.”

 

“Please don’t leave me,” She was begging at this point. “I don’t know what it’s like without you!” A few people around the room quirked their heads at that.

 

“Think rationally, Ellenor,” Frieda comforted how ever callously. “All supers are going to be arrested, they’d do anything to take us down. This place isn’t safe for anyone else as long as we’re here. Plus, we were already on the run. They want us out of the picture as soon as possible. You have barely had any time to recover, the last thing you need is more travel.”

 

“Frieda… please, you don’t understand! I can get better, I swear!”

 

“And what about walking, Ellenor?” Frieda scoffed. “What if you can never walk again? What if you get another infection? What if you die? What then?”

 

“I’m better off with you!” Ellenor seemed to be trapped in her own mind set rather than thinking of any negotiation.

 

“No, you’re not!” Frieda finally raised her voice. To everyone’s relief, she quickly lowered it. “You didn’t see yourself last night. You were completely frantic… I don’t want you to ever be like that again.”

 

“Frieda…”

 

“This is what’s best for you… for everyone!” Frieda made a wide gesture to the whole room. “When have I ever done what’s not best for you?” Ellenor gave a look that was still pathetically glossy. “You’re not thinking straight. You’re normally so rational… always wanting to save everyone,” Frieda laughed. “Trust me, even if this isn’t what you want now, it’s what you’ll thank me for later.”

 

“Don’t,” Ellenor tried. Frieda stood, stepping away from Ellenor. “Please,” Frieda made a gesture, moving her hand up, then towards her, seeming to signal for everyone to follow her. She walked towards the door. “I love you!”

 

Frieda’s steps paused. Everyone held their breath. She looked back towards Ellenor. “I love you too.” And she walked out.

 

Strolling down the empty dark halls of the hospital, Frieda led the supers away from Ellenor’s room, out towards the exit. She was the leader of a huge posse of all powerful beings. Her proud stature allowed for Sachi to feel that same confidence.

 

Just as they reached the sliding doors to exit, July slid in front of them, stopping them in their tracks.

 

“The police are here,” July alerted them, breathing heavily.

 

Frieda held her hands up as she gently closed her eyes. “Relax,” She told her. “We’ve done nothing wrong, so act like it.” So she walked around July, prompting the others to follow.

 

Just as the last of the supers walked out of the building, police officers of all different sorts started their way in. Frieda walked straight through them, not moving once to avoid any impact. They parted the way for her, running inside, to arrest her. She still strolled out with her chin high. Sachi could feel her mind calling.

 

Who can stop us now?


	139. Empathetic

July and Sachi spoke quietly to each other in the middle seats, while Frieda drove, and Eryk slept in the back of the car. 

Sachi rubbed at her hand with his head on her shoulder. He was anxious, mostly worried about Bea and Ellenor who they had left behind. 

It was the longest July had seen his empathetic power not working on him. He usually mimicked the emotions of the people around him, naturally, or as natural as a super can be.

Frieda turned around after she moved the gear into park. She handed back a few bills to them.

“Why don't you two get something for you to eat?” Frieda offered a great suggestion. July graciously took it. It would be good for Sachi to be around some other minds. 

She wrapped his arm around her own and led Sachi into the convenience store.

“What do you like?” July asked.

“I don't know,” Sachi sounded devastated. “These are European treats… I don't even know all these words.”

July cringed. She hadn't thought about the culture clash at all.

“How about chocolate? You can go wrong with that.” July grabbed the off-brand chocolate bar that the store sold.

Once at the counter, July was appalled to see how expensive the candy was. They had three euros, but the candy was just below four.

“Stay here,” She told Sachi as the cashier looked saltily down at them both. July hustled out to the car and opened the door. “Hey, Frieda, do you have some extra change?” July tried to look in little compartments around the car where she'd throw some useless coins. She then looked at the sitting Frieda when she found nothing. Her face dropped.

Frieda's nose had turned red around the edges and tip. Her lips looked wet, but had bite marks dug into them. Her eyes were red all around as though she had vigorously rubbed them moments ago.

July frowned. “Are you…”

A door shut. Sachi tossed the chocolate to July. “Let's go.”

“What?” July climbed into the car. “How'd you do that?”

“He felt guilty for not giving it to me,” Sachi explained without much emotion in his voice. “Can we leave?”

The car started after Frieda gave a silent nod.

“You made him give it to you?” July asked. “Like… influenced him?”

“He'll never know I was a super.”

July looked to Frieda who attempted to express nothing, then back to Sachi, who said nothing, looking out the window emotionless.

Maybe Sachi's power was making him feel the same way as the others around him.


	140. Crowded

Tadaaki had to chase Kieren through the streets that absorbed the merciless sun only to heat everyone around him. Kieren was very short, easy to lose in the crowd, but luckily, they were the only people with deep black hair around, plus Kieren’s ridiculously long hair.

“Kieren!” He kept calling out into the crowd. No one bothered to pay him a second glance as he was absorbed by all the people. It was incredibly busy, too busy. It was teeth-gritting-ly awful to be repeatedly bumped into.

Of course Kieren was rushing into something Tadaaki didn’t even remotely understand. The irrational younger man not only said no word on what was going on, but he made no promise of coming back or even caring. Once Kieren had an idea, he forced his way through it.

When the crowd finally split enough for Tadaaki to see what was happening, he realized why it was so congested. At least twenty people were all set up along the boardwalk. It was simple things, dazzling girls with card tricks, fooling men with faulty balls in cups. Only there was one that Kieren was particularly interested in.

A young woman with the same stature as Kieren, thin and frail, wound rings of fire around her wrists, moving in a sexual fashion. Occasionally she would blow outwards with a wide mouth, allowing a steady stream of fire out.

Kiere stopped in front of her.

Oh no…

Tadaaki picked up the pace.

Kieren somehow got the girl to stop her movements. He gestured to himself and around the rings. The girl let out a laugh. Tadaaki lowered his eyes, scared for her fate.

“I’m telling you, we’re the same,” Kieren seemed to reitorate as Tadaaki got to him.

“Sorry kid,” The girl tossed the rings into a bucket, extinguishing them. “I got years of experience on you, I guarantee it.”

Kieren frowned, parting his lips to say something, but he just stared at the bucket next to the girl of the clear, steaming liquid. “ … Is that… water?” Kieren finally asked.

The girl laughed and shook her head. “You two are a long way from home, aren’t you?”

Kieren turned away, saying nothing. He only walked back towards the crowd, back where they came from.

Tadaaki hustled to catch his wrist. “Kieren, wait,” 

Kieren looked back at him with a horrible bitterness in his eyes. “I’m alone.”

“What are you talking about?”

He shook his head. “I don’t belong… I didn’t belong with my family and I didn’t belong at the farm…” Something seemed to click in his head. “I need Isamu.”


	141. Thick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The talk

“Another farm?” Candy asked with her nostrils flared. She flung her head back as she let out an irritated noise. “When are we gonna go somewhere with some signal?”

“That’s what you’re worried about, Candy?” Lolias chided with a lightness to his voice. “I think I had more of a following than you and I haven’t thought about my phone in years.”

“Cute, Lolias,” Candy joined into his snide tone. “But I had the entire school district at my fingertips.”

“I had the olympics wrapped around my pinky.”

“Come on you two,” Wolt sneered not joking at them. “This isn’t exactly the time for jokes.”

“We’re the new generation, we hide stress with jokes naturally,” Candy acted like she was slicing through her stress with her hand.

“Count me out of that generation, American,” Lolias pretended to insult. “I was raised differently.”

“Oh, and exactly what kind of phone did you have, Lolias?”

“You wouldn’t go there…”

“Oh, I think you know I would.”

“Enough!” Wolt snapped. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “We need to talk about this. It’s not nearly as secluded or large as Danny’s farm. It’s dangerous.”

Candy glanced at Lolias for a second, but quickly back towards Wolt with her top lip upturned and her nostrils flared. “It’s also dangerous to leave someone in the back of a semi truck for hours and hours without food or water.” The tension the woman implemented into the trailer was palpable. “We’ve been in danger before, I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

Wolt didn’t speak. He simply stood up and excused himself from the back of the truck.


	142. Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time

“I’m glad you’re all okay,” Pete said quietly to July. “But you have to understand that Jenn made a mistake.”

The two of them walked down the sidewalk of a strip mall into town. The lights were low, but there were still plenty of people all around. Pete kept his hands shoved into his gold-lined pockets while July nervously fiddled with her hands.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Pete continued. “She had the right idea. Wait for the leader and such, but it’s really not acceptable. There’s a point between keeping someone alive versus protected.”

July had wanted this to be a sweet conversation between friends to catch up, but Pete was just making her feel guilty. Last time she had seen him, he was the jokester extraordinaire, but now, she was being lectured.

“We’re being chased, on the run. We can’t risk everything, we have everything to lose.”

“It doesn’t matter,” July bowed her head. “She’s dead now.”

“It does matter,” Pete remained collected. “We all could have died, or worse, been arrested and put back into the war.”

“When did you get so serious?” July shook her head. “What happened to the go-lucky guy I knew?”

He sighed. “We’ve all been going through this reality check… Hell, Ellenor has been in the hospital three times now. It’s time for us to take our place in the world. We have to lead the other supers to stand like you and I do now. “

July looked up to see Pete with his head high, looking towards the setting sun. 

“We can’t let every super live with us,” July tried to rationalize. “There’s thousands, everywhere.”

“Then we have to do something, something big, a message towards supers, that will somehow go over the heads of the governments.” Pete flared his arms out. “This isn’t about us being safe, it’s about liberation! It’s not about us anymore. We have to help all the other supers…” The sun was still on the horizon, but it didn’t seem to move. “We have to.”


	143. Character Bios 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete

Full name: Prince Pietro Andreas  
Khumalo

Nationality: Swazi

Known Power(s): Immortality, invulnerability, immortality infliction, invulnerability infliction

Age: 22

Major Trait: Avuncular

Born into royalty, Pete was pampered from the day he was conceived. Though he was the fifth child of his father’s second wife, he was the first male, making him the only heir. Though his parents ran the country to a very conservative extent, he decided to change the tides. While the most he was able to achieve was neutrality, he gave the government a push in the right direction. The day before he announced his neutrality in the war, there was an assassination attempt. There, Pete survived a bullet straight through the head, leaving no wounds whatsoever. He exposed his super power to the entire country. He was soon apprehended and drafted due to his oldest half-sister. He went to the farm with July and Eryk.

 

Full name: July Elizabeth Kekoka

Nationality: Hawaiian

Known Power(s): Emotion detection

Age: 23

Major Trait: Receptive

After a breakdown in front of her traditional family, July was sent off to war, despite her power giving no physical attributes. No one exactly knew her power or bothered to look into it, but they knew she was a super. July had to spend her time trying to figure out her new confusing power. July became one of the leaders that helped in the super side of the Provencal army. July was also in the first group of people sent to the farm.


	144. Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clean

It was a warm grey house that Frieda stopped in front of as she put the car into park. It didn’t have its own private drive like at the farm at Vaudherland, nor did it have vacant land as its perimeter. Instead, there was a short gravel driveway that led to the small garage that was connected to the house. Slightly behind it, there was a wide metal white barn, nothing like the beauty of red painted wood that they used to have.

Frieda stepped out of the turned off car with a precision that Eryk took notice of. She marched on towards the large deep brown door that drew anyone’s eye towards it.

She looked like she was reaching into her pocket, but she instead grabbed the handle, staring at the keypad on it. Less than a second later, it opened. A single step was taken inside, but nothing more.

“Frieda?” July asked from behind her.

“We have a lot to do before we can exactly live here,” Frieda said under her breath. “We should get to work. There will be tools in the shed out back.”

When Frieda went walking through the house, Eryk finally got a look of the interior of the house. 

There was an immediate long narrow hallway that led to the opposite side where light came in from the back door. To the left was a large room that had various pieces of furniture covered with plastic. To the right was a room that was shut with a old looking door with an even older looking handle.

July and Sachi did the same curious scanning around, but they still followed Frieda through the house.

“Tadaaki can re-fertilize the field when he gets here,” Sachi suggested. “Maybe it will be good for something else other than sweet beans.”

July laughed. “I know you love those beans.”

“Maybe,” Sachi admitted. “But not every day for months.”

Frieda went out the back door, heading to the supposed shed. When she came back inside, she had two shovels tucked into her arms and two brooms in either of her hands.

July took a broom and headed off to the room right of the back door. With a shovel, Sachi followed. 

Frieda shoved the other broom at Eryk. He gave it a little pull towards him so that it landed properly in his hand. 

“If we clean the attic completely, I think at least ten people could live up there, as well as be a hiding place.” Frieda gave Eryk the run down as they approached the stairs to the left of the backdoor. “I’m not sure exactly how many beds could fit, but I’m sure if they all pack together, it will be fine.”

Eryk gave her a nod and nothing more.

After climbing up the pull down ladder, the Frieda swept into the shovel and Eryk hauled it off. Frieda stood holding her broom with a different kind of stance than normal. She stood taller, tighter, prouder, faker.

It was forced. It was fake. 

What was she doing? Was she pretending to be okay with sweeping?

Eryk could have said something, but he didn’t. He noticed, but he didn’t say he did. He let Frieda continue to stand tall, holding an old fashioned broom looking down with a false sense of pride.


	145. Knock

The door to the moving truck was still propped open. Lolias blinked his eyes to try and adjust to see who was there. He lifted his head up from the blanket that covered the wood of the floor. 

 

“I think it's dark enough for you to come out, but you need to be quiet… your voice is pretty loud.” Lolias flared his nostrils to the Prince's insult.

 

“Gee, thanks, Pete,” He replied, not bothering to follow his instructions.

 

“Hey,” Pete hissed under his breath. “I'm serious. There's a house pretty close to here.”

 

“What--?” Lolias started.

 

“Shush!” Pete commanded.

 

“Is that supposed to mean?” He finished quieter.

 

“This barn isn't as tall as the other one, but it's way more insulated, maybe that will allow you to have more company.” Lolias's karma was adding up, he was finally getting something back. “I'd love to hang out with you all like the others did, I've heard great stories. As long as I'm not taking care of the kids, I could do it.”

 

“Very formal,” Lolias commented. “You could have hung out with us before that, you know.”

 

“Well, you weren't exactly friendly before that…” Pete chuckled. “No one knew how much fun it could be to be in a barn with a bunch of others.”

 

“Are you doing alright?” Lolias would have nudged him if they were the same size. “You don't seem like yourself.”

 

Pete sighed. “We've got a lot of responsibility, you know? I feel like we're the only ones that understand.”

 

Lolias cocked his head. “Who?”

 

“I don't know… You, me, Frieda, everyone else…” Pete bared his teeth. “No one does anything to help anymore.”

 

“Well, at the farm specific jobs could be assigned, it’s not exactly like that anymore.”

 

“No, that’s not what I mean…” Pete shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

 

The doors to the big metal barn slid open. Heat flushed out of it, bringing the hot putrid aroma out of the barn, into the open air.

 

“Gah!” Lolias shouted as he reared away.

 

“Seriously?” Pete gagged as he covered his nose.

 

“It smells terrible in there!”

 

“Yeah, I can tell!” Pete shook his head. “I’m gonna throw up.”

 

“We have to clean in there. I can’t live in… that.” Lolias hoped that they wouldn’t force him in there.

 

“I’ll go get someone, we’ll get to work.” The whole way to the house, Pete continued to choke and shake his head.

 

A few minutes later, a squad of six people were coming out with various shovels, brooms, and buckets. Some of them had handkerchiefs on their necks and faces. Several were already dirty and dusty.

 

Sachi gave a smug look up at Lolias. “We've been cleaning all day, we're ready for this.” Lolias smiled at the sweet man. His karma wasn't a sham.

 

Once they got to work, Lolias took a broom between his fingers like a large pencil down on his hands and knees. Nearly immediately, it broke in his hand.

 

“You don't have to do anything, Lolias,” Frieda told him, taking the ruined broom. “Just wait outside, we'll get this done.”

 

Crawling out of the barn, Lolias looked around the outside. He longed to explore, but Pete had already warned him about the possibility of neighbors. He sighed, sitting down. Once day… he knew he'd be in the spotlight again.


	146. Smell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> July had to pinch her nose.

July had to pinch her nose as she walked into the barn that Lolias was residing in. She took a deep breath of the fresh air outside before heading inside. She heard him breathing softly, but not much else besides her own steps echoing in the completely metal building. As she approached, she noticed that he sat against the wall, like he always did before, only that his head was much closer to the ceiling. July was positive that if he stood, he would hit his head.

“Hey,” July said, wrapping her arms around herself. “Long time, no see.” 

Lolia smirked down at her. “You don’t say.”

“Last time was at the beach, right?” July heard another voice. She leaned over to see past Lolias’s giant leg. A chunky girl sat with her legs crossed on the floor next to Lolias. July narrowed her eyes at her.

 

“Candy,” July said hesitantly. “What are you doing here?”

“Just hanging out, of course,” Candy had the biggest dopiest smile on her face. “Lolias likes the company.”

“Well, I’m sure you’d like the company of someone else, huh?” July made the snide remark at Lolias.

He chuckled. “Until Isamu comes here, you two will do.”

Candy’s body went rigid next to Lolias. July frowned at her, but didn’t say anything.

“This place kind of sucks,” July curled her lip.

“Yeah,”Candy pursed her lips. She glanced around the barn. “But it’s better than being stuck in that trailer for hours and hours and hours. You have no idea how many times I bonked my head on that stupid wood floor. I swear I got splinters from that thing. How about you, Lolias?” Candy cut off her own fast talking in order to ask Lolias a question.

“Oh definitely,” Lolias nodded. July narrowed her eyes and showed her teeth as she looked up at him. “It doesn’t help that I didn’t have shoes… that I don’t have shoes.” July gave Lolias a confused gawk. He spoke to Candy a completely different way than he spoke to her, only with the same facetious undertones.

“It’s so unfair that you don’t have shoes,” Candy said shaking her head.   
“We all have the same stuff except for you.”

 

“Don’t complain for me, Candy. You know where it got you last time.” The two of them laughed together. July couldn’t help feeling jealous for the shared moment.


	147. Melting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Attempt to) Flirt and comfort.

Eryk climbed down the ladder with a smile after the goodnight he had received from Pete, but better yet, the sweet nothings Egend whispered before. The Kurdish man was a few years younger than him and way out of his league--they would have nothing to do with each other outside of the strange situation they had been found in--but Eryk still enjoyed the flirtatious attention, no matter how low-key.

Eryk walked through the narrow halls of the upstairs. It was mostly quiet except for murmuring heard through walls and his own creaking footsteps. Eryk took a step that didn't land quite right, sending him back to walking down the hall at Vaudherland with Jenn.

She was wearing a button up top with a sweater vest pulled over it. She had stumbled in her massive heels, falling into the wall, but catching Eryk to help her. He didn't do the best job as he too fell to the wall. Even though he didn't think anything of it, she stayed up against the wall and continued to hold onto him. Afterwards she went on for hours and hours how she said it was a misunderstanding. How she had misinterpreted “whatever was going on between them.”

Eryk moved on from it, had almost completely forgotten it. He didn't care anymore. Then Jenn died. 

A quiet sob caught Eryk off guard. It was different from the mumbling through the whole house as it was deliberately hidden and hushed. Someone was crying and hiding it. Eryk had avoided any somber noises he had heard in the past mostly due to that it was mostly children having tantrums. He would have ignored it, but it wasn't the same as the others he had heard. 

Eryk slowly made his way back down the stairs. He stood behind the wall closest to the right banister that was the only cover he had from the house’s kitchen that was on the opposite side of the backdoor.

Not another voice or sound was even present in the downstairs. He knew someone was having a breakdown in the kitchen. Eryk shook his head. He could do this. It wouldn't be awkward if he just approached.

He took a deep breath, exhaled, and turned the corner, leaving his safety.

“Oh, Eryk,” Frieda said at the counter. She lifted her head and her balled fists up from the linoleum counter to wipe her face. “I didn't hear you.”

“Are you alright?” He took careful steps closer.

“I'm fine, just need some rest,” She moved towards the room for the stairs.

Eryk lowered his head. Replacing Frieda, Eryk was the only one downstairs. He shook his head with a sad smile. He wasn’t good at confrontation.


	148. Character Bios 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eryk and Xander

Full name: Eryk Logan Nullwood

Nationality: Australian

Known Power(s): Telekinesis

Age: 29

Major Trait: Timid

Eryk used his power in order to save his sister’s husband, Luca. Afterwards, he was reported to the authorities and drafted into the army. In the Provencal side of the war, Eryk was a source of fear. Other humans avoided him due to his power, even though Eryk never caused any casualties to happen to anyone on either side. Eryk was in the first group of people that Ellenor and Frieda sent to the farm in Vaudherland.

  
  


Full name: Alexander Michael Keeper

Nationality: Scottish

Known Power(s): Beauty exposure

Age: 22

Major Trait: Optimistic

On his quest to find the Missus or Mister right, Xander travelled the entire world. On his journeys, he discovered how beautiful the world around him was. Waterfalls glistened blue, trees shimmered green, people radiated warmth.  He learned that his power was being used constantly when he took a picture of a gorgeous red rose, when in reality it was dead. He fought and screamed as he was dragged into the Provencal army. He was sent to the farm along with Egend.

 


	149. Open

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Make an entrance.

The door slammed open so fast and hard that it made Eryk, Sachi, and Egend jump out of their seats in the living room. The others, Camelia and Wolt remained calm on the couch. In strolled a stoney young man with a silky rope of raven hair trailing behind him. Tadaaki walked in immediately after Kieren, closing the door like a civilized person while hardcore glaring at Kieren.

“Woah, hey!” July called out. She waltzed in through the downstairs middle hallway right up to Kieren’s chest. The height difference was astounding. They had never been so close before. July had at least a head and a half on Kieren. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Making an entrance, of course,” Kieren grinned. “After Tadaaki and I were practically left behind, I figured it was necessary.”

“Anyone could have been left behind,” Pete made his presence known barely behind July. “You’re not special.”

“On the contrary, Tadaaki and I are the most powerful supers in our entire group.” Kieren tilted his chin up in pride. “We got rid of police and broke out of jail.”

“Where’s Hwan?” Sachi took steps towards the newcomers. Kieren’s smile fell as he glared over at Tadaaki.

The taller Japanese man looked at the shorter one for just a moment. He looked numb and awful in his eyes. But Sachi seemed to see something that they couldn’t. “Sachi…” Tadaaki breathed. He started to shake his head as his expression broke down. “I’m sorry.” He cried as he hurried to Sachi. The smaller of the two made every move to meet him halfway. Tadaaki sobbed onto Sachi’s shoulder like they had a thousand times before.

“There was an accident,” Kieren informed. “A car accident. We couldn’t help them.” Tadaaki’s cries were soon overwhelmed by Sachi’s.

“They’re dead?” Wolt stood. “That’s it? We’re just supposed to accept that?” He threw his arms out like it was mutiny, his eyebrows twitched in rage.

Kieren turned towards him, his haunting grin reflecting all too white. “I highly suggest that’s exactly what you do.” Kieren turned back to July with an unnatural twist to his neck. “Where’s Isamu?”


	150. Ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who else is melting?

Candy’s laugh was cut short by the opening of the barn door along with the immediate shutting. Everyone’s eyes were directed to the noise at the front of the metal structure. 

“Lolias,” Isamu said nearly breathless. “Kieren’s here.” July and Candy look to Lolias for instruction. “I’m not ready. I can’t see him, I, I--”

“It’s okay,” Lolias put his hands out in a calm manner. “You can rest in here, he won’t come here.”

“I’m sorry,” Isamu covered his eye. “I should have come sooner, I’m just, I,”

“Isamu, it’s okay, really,” Lolias reached his arm out close to the floor. “You can talk to us, just relax.”

His breathing was sporadic and panicky. “I can’t stop thinking about…” Isamu clutched his shirt tightly in his fist, right over his heart. July's eyebrows were upturned, Candy was stiff, Lolias was calm, still holding his hand out for Isamu to take. “About this!” Isamu whipped off his shirt, struggling with it for a moment, but then completely pulling it off. 

While his muscles were incredibly toned and perfect, there was still part of his body that was tormented by war. Leading up to his missing arm, scars of scratches and cuts lined his skin. There was one scar however that caught more attention than any other.

A massive circle was cut off by Isamu's pants, but it branched out all over his body, rippling the skin with it. The scar discolored the tissue to a contrasting pink.

July squinted at it, confused as to how it looked like a burn mark. Candy avoided looking, embarrassed for Isamu. Lolias gave Isamu the same offer, but his eyes were fraught with mourning. 

“I'm still there, every time I close my eyes I'm still there…” He let out a long exhale. “Sachi is crying, Tadaaki is hiding, Hwan is staring… I'm so scared even though I… I thought I'd be okay. But I knew I wouldn't.”

“Isamu,” Lolias tried to crawl forward to him. “It's okay, you're here, I'm here, you're here with me.”

Isamu slammed his hand into the socket that didn't have an eye. “I did this,” He shook his head. “I can't fix it.”

“Isamu,” Lolias gently grabbed the smaller man's shoulder. “It's okay…”

Isamu looked up. The man usually was so defeated and torn, but his gaze was different with Lolias. Isamu grabbed one of Lolias's fingers, tugging it towards him. Lolias leaned down further to his face. 

Isamu whispered something nearly too quiet to hear, “I’m sorry.” and planted a kiss on Lolias's lips. 

After regathering and calming down, the barn was quiet with the girls sitting with Lolias at the wall closest to the door and Isamu tucked into a nest of blankets Lolias had deep in the barn.

"I've never seen him like that," July folded her arms. "He's usually so composed."

Lolias shook his head. "He's not acting like himself at all. Then again... I didn't know him before that happened to him anyway."

"Do you even know what happened?" Candy's lips tightened. "Does he talk about it? Because he hasn't been talking at all."

"He's usually quiet, but not this quiet. How long has he been like that?” July directed her question to Candy. “Why's he so messed up about it?”

“Ever since I let him drive, only he was acting less weird before that. I let him drive and he slammed on the breaks. From then, I haven't hear him speak at all. Except to you, Lolias.”

“I had no idea… this whole time… “ Lolias looked ashamed as he gazed back towards Isamu. “I haven't even seen him since our beach endeavor.”

“What was that anyways?” Candy asked, addressing the two.

“It was a stupid plan,” Lolias lowered his head. “We didn't think it through.”

“We were gonna run away, away from all of this…” July elaborated.

“Without me?” Candy said with a massive grin. The other two couldn't find it in themselves to smile back.

“All I did was put us in more danger… I didn't even know where we would go. I still don't.” Lolias shook his head. “I feel so stupid.”

“Well…” Candy smiled. “You were caught because of Ellenor, right?” July and Lolias shared a side glance. “If so, then we left her, back at the hospital, you know? No one would be able to know where you are but her.”

“Wait,” Lolias stopped her before she went on. “‘Left Ellenor?’” 

“Yeah, at the hospital. You didn't know?” Candy cocked her head. 

Lolias sent daggers at July. “You knew.”

“Lolias,” July raised her hands. “Frieda is in charge of us all, it wasn't my decision!”

“Why did she leave her? It doesn't make any sense!” Lolias grabbed his temples.

“Hey,” Candy hissed at them. She pointed to the distant mound of blankets that was now shifting.  
Lolias exhaled, irritated. “Ask Frieda to come talk to me, will you?” He looked directly at Candy. July turned away, heating up in shame. The stout woman stood and showed herself out.

“What the heck, July?” Lolias angrily whispered.

“I'm sorry. I feel really bad.” July blamed herself

“You should,” Lolias agreed. “You haven't told me anything about what happened with Ellenor even though you were in the same car as my best friend.”

A pang went through July's chest, hearing Ellenor's title to Lolias. She had known Lolias for a while now, everyone had that someone they had met at the farm and gotten attached to. But Ellenor and Lolias had known each other from before the war, before everything.

“I'm sorry,” July tried. “I didn't mean to upset you.”

Lolias took a deep drawn out sigh. “It's not you. There's just so much going on right now.”

“Yeah,” July agreed. “So much.”


	151. Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Break.

Frieda passed by the living room without looking in. She knew plenty of them were doing nothing ever since Kieren and Tadaaki arrived. For some reason, it was agreed that with Tadaaki significantly less work would be done. Frieda forced herself not to roll her eyes. She walked out the backdoor, towards the big metal barn.

 

“Hey, Frieda!” She heard someone jogging through the overgrown grass behind her. She slowed her gait to allow them to catch up. She glanced to see Pete smiling at her as he reached her side. “What are you doing?” He gestured to the broom in her hand. 

 

She pointed towards the barn. “I'm gonna clean up more in there.”

 

“I thought we already did,” Pete said that more like a question.

 

“It's still disgusting in there. It's not acceptable for Lolias to be living in that.” Frieda squinted as the sun started to irritate her eyes despite the temperature.

 

“Hold on,” He started to move to the backdoor. “I'll get one too, I'll help.” He ran back to the shed that stood against the back wall.

 

Frieda smiled slightly. “Thanks,” she uttered too quiet for anyone to hear. Her smile fell soon after.

 

“Frieda!” A perky voice punctured the air. She whipped back around towards the barn to see Candy quickly approaching and with her arm raised and waving. Frieda frowned, quickly confused. The two of them didn't exactly know each other, but Candy looked ecstatic to see her. “Lolias asked me to ask you to come talk to him, but I came out here and you were already walking this way! My luck!” Frieda forced a laugh. “Lolias wants to talk to you, and I hate to say, but he seemed pretty upset. I'm not sure if it was because of you or July, but I guess we'll find out, right?”

 

“Right…” Frieda agreed hesitantly.

 

Pete walked up. “Candy?” He inquired. “What are you doing out here?”

 

“I'm getting Frieda for Lolias. He--”

 

“Wait,” Pete stopped her. “You were with Lolias?”

 

“Yeah!” Candy planted her hand on her hip. “He's like, my bestie.”

 

Frieda raised an eyebrow. 

 

“And he hangs out with July… Does he just like sassy girls or something?” Pete jested. Shortly after his remark, Frieda saw him force the smile off of his face. 

 

“You can ask him,” Candy smiled. “Seems like we're all headed to the same place.” She took off walking towards the barn door. “What a coincidence!”

 

The barn door opened, clanging metal against metal shuddered through the barn.

 

Lolias and July looked up quickly. Only it was so much darker in the barn than it was outside that no one saw their quick reaction time. 

 

“There needs to be more windows in here,” Pete commented quietly. 

 

“Frieda!” Lolias called out. “That was quick.”

 

“I was already on my way,” Frieda didn't accept the praise. “This place needs cleaned in here before it's livable.”

 

Lolias waved his hand. “It's not that bad. There's no chickens in here, live ones at least.”

 

Pete went to some loose straw that was spread out all over the floor. He started to move it all into a single pile. Frieda looked to him, knowing the responsibility at hand, but looked to the ground, thinking of Candy's call to talking to Lolias. 

 

“Wait,” Frieda held up a hand towards Pete. All sounds seemed to slow within the barn. “Lolias,” She looked up at the huge man sporting the east side of the barn. Tension easily filled the empty air as her voice echoed through the metal structure. 

 

Lolias seemed to crane his neck upwards, tilting his chin up above her, as though his height didn't already have her shrinking into herself. She was suddenly stifled as she realized the two had never had a direct conversation with each other. She knew that the man was once a very prideful, heard that he had mellowed out, but his smug behavior still remained.

 

“Yes, Frieda?” Lolias addressed her. Even his tone of voice was condescending. She had met a few people with cockiness problems, but Lolias was collected about it. He was a complete connoisseur of talking down to people. His posture, his tone, his words, Frieda knew it was just him working to get in her head, but she couldn’t stop it from working on her.

 

“Do we have something to talk about?” She tightened her grip on the broom turning her knuckles white. “Something you needed to say?” Frieda could hear her own voice growing more and more timid. 

 

For just a moment, Lolias tightened his lips, flared his nostrils, and clenched his jaw, but quickly went back to his relaxed expression. Frieda couldn’t tell if he was consciously messing with her or if it was just his nature.

 

“Yeah, actually,” Lolias confirmed, salt riddled in his voice. “Why exactly did you leave my best friend behind?” Frieda raised an eyebrow and squinted. At the same time as her expression shifted, as did Lolias’s. He gritted his teeth and twitched his lip. “Ellenor! My best friend, your wife, the reason any of us are even still here today!”

 

It clicked all too slow in Frieda’s mind. She knew that Lolias and Ellenor had met before the war, they had been close. Only, Ellenor knew tons of people, acquaintances and officials, comrades and subordinates. How could Lolias proclaim to be so close to her? She rarely even talked about him. Then again, Ellenor barely talked about anyone at all. Frieda didn’t know anything about Ellenor’s life before the war, before they met.

 

“I did the right thing,” Frieda stood by her decision. She fought the urge to shrivel up under Lolias, taking a tall proud stance.

 

“How can you say that?” Lolias scoffed.

 

“You don’t have to agree with me,” Frieda looked to the ground. “You didn’t see her like I did,” Frieda shook her head, remembering the pain. “She was in agony. She screamed she was dying; it was deafening.”

 

“Then we should have stayed with her,” Lolias argued. 

 

“We had no choice,” Frieda felt Lolias’s anger resonating inside her. “The police were already there.” 

 

“We’ve taken them out before, we can do it again,” Lolias turned away as though the conversation was over. 

 

“No, we couldn’t,” Frieda upturned her nose. “Tadaaki and Kieren weren’t even with us. They have no idea how many of us there are, or who we all are, or that any of us have any correlation.”

 

“Ellenor could have taken care of it,” Lolias twitched his nose. “Everyday her power gets stronger and stronger. You don’t know what I’ve seen her do.”

 

“What could you have possibly seen that I haven’t?” Frieda’s voice made the metal walls tremble. “What do you know that I don’t?” 

 

“I know for a fact that the last thing she wants is to be alone,” Lolias raised his voice to match Frieda’s. “That’s the last thing any one of us needs. Some of us, like me and Ellenor, can’t hide that we’re a super like  _ you _ .”

 

“What are you even saying?” Frieda’s nails dug into her palms. She could feel her own rage along with Lolias’s inside her pounding, aching to get out. “You don’t know anything about me!” 

 

“I think I know enough to see that you’re not fit to be a wife yet,” Lolias rolled his eyes.

 

Frieda’s mind melted for a moment, sinking into a deep heat with in her core. It quickly blossomed through her whole being, causing a red hot embarrassment from her fingertips to her head.

 

“How  _ dare _ you speak to me like that!” Frieda marched up to Lolias. “My wife nearly died and you have the audacity to say that I shouldn’t be with her!” The power of anger within her started to manifest itself in her hands. “First a bullet to the lung, then two broken legs, then this… eye thing! To top it off, a vile infection has spread through her entire being! Do you think she’ll be able to walk again? To breathe again? To live again? No, you don’t know! I don’t know! There’s no guarantee she’ll live another day! But her at that hospital? With professionals who can help her, maybe she’ll see the sunrise again. So, don’t tell me what’s good for her, because you have no idea! I have no idea! None of us know the future, nothing, nothing is guaranteed!” Frieda’s breath was uneven and heavy, her throat convulsed, her chest tightened. Thick, glossy tears rolled down her cheeks, dripping off of the bottom of her chin to the floor. Her head lolled as her eyelids suddenly felt heavy. She stumbled, falling into Lolias’s foot.

 

“Woah!” She heard Candy, sounding so distant from her, or was it her ears that were distant from her mind? Frieda felt an arm go up around her. She tried to tell whoever that she was fine, but no words came out of her mouth. She tried to smile. She wanted to say that she knew that the days without sleep would eventually catch up to her, but she was positive that her mind was way too far gone to interact with her body anymore.  She could feel things going on, but it didn't click what the exact things were. Except for one.

 

Two massive fingers placed themselves against Frieda's back. She fell into them, allowing all her weight to rest on the large hand. What once felt like a boiling rage simmered down to a soft comforting. 

 

Once Frieda was assisted in laying down on a mound of fleece blankets, she was out like a lamp next to the already resting Isamu. 


	152. Insult

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who do you believe in?

Another swig was taken out of the bottle that was being passed around the large circle of people. Once Wolt was done cringing from the bitterness of the drink, he passed it to the very short girl sitting next to him, Blossom. 

 

“… As soon as I denied her,” Lewis went on with his story. “She became completely hysterical. Exactly why I did not want her as my significant other, honestly. If it is that effortless to provoke someone, how would it be appropriate to plan a life together?”

 

Mavis rolled her eyes as she shook her head. “That’s why you date people,” She gave her two cents. “In order to find out the kind of people you’d like to spend the rest of your life with.”

 

“Oh, come on,” Egend brushed his hair behind his ear. “You only didn’t want to be with her because you lean towards dudes.”

 

Lewis’s face erupted like a volcano, his face turning the color of red hot lava. “Not true!” A few laughs were shared at his reaction.

 

“Don’t act like you know who everyone belongs with, Mr. Matchmaker,” Wolt warned. Eryk notice that the Irish man was much more vocal when he was slightly under the influence.

 

“How about you, Mavis?” Camelia asked towards the older woman. “Surely you have some great dating stories.”

 

Mavis only shook her head, causing her headband to shift upward to meet her dreaded hairline. “I’m not ready for a commitment like that.” Camelia whined in disappointment.

 

“Why don’t you tell us about yours, Camelia?” Blossom teased suggestively. Camelia lowered her head with a blush. “You have to tell him sometime.”

 

Eryk turned away from the scene between the two girls towards Egend right next to him. “What are they talking about?” 

 

Egend smirked while still looking at the two girls. “Everyone knows Camelia has a mad crush on Lolias.” Eryk widened his eyes. 

 

“I didn’t know that!” Eryk said, astounded, but quietly to Egend. 

 

“Yeah,” Egend looked over at him. “She was crazy about him, always went to his shows, no matter how far away they were. I bet she would have gone to the olympics just to see him perform. She has only liked him more and more since he became a super.”

 

“...And he always stands up for himself,” Eryk tuned back into the conversation. Camelia looked off with a dazed look into a nonexistent distance. “He's so dreamy.”

 

“I've only ever seen Lolias look even remotely interested in Isamu,” Eryk whispered to Egend. “He's not a very open person when it comes to dating.”

 

“But he's into Isamu?” Egend quirked an eyebrow. “I'd call that pretty open.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Eryk frowned.

 

“Yeah, what  _ are _ you two talking about?” Blossom smiled.

 

“Not what you wish it was,” Egend smirked. “Eryk over here brought up Isamu.”

 

Camelia scoffed, turning her head as though she wanted nothing to do with them. Blossom rolled her eyes. Lewis flared his nostrils.

 

“Isamu?” Lewis asked. “That wanton? Why does he get brought up?”

 

“He's not a wanton,” Mavis defended. “He's sweet.”

 

“You've never even said anything to him,” Ivan's heavy accent added to his accusation.

 

“Whatever, cretin.” Lewis narrowed his eyes, snatching the bottle out of Ivan's hand to take a big gulp.

 

“I’m so glad you hang out with us now, Eryk,” Blossom leaned forward, placing her hand on his knee. “Those people are just terrible.”

 

Eryk’s nose curled as his eyebrows turned upwards. “Who?”

 

“Frieda, Isamu, July, and so on,” Lewis explained. “They are all… quidnuncs.” Eryk didn't even know what that word meant. “Wolt spent one day with that Candy girl and went nearly insane.”

 

Wolt cringed in remission. “People who think they know more than they do drive me insane. Not to mention people who just take what they want. Like Lolias with Isamu and Frieda with being in charge. ...No offense, Camelia.”

 

The Cuban girl shrugged. “Not everyone loves him like I do.”

 

“I think Mavis should be in charge,” Ivan commented, looking towards the dark skinned woman. “You will be one day, right?”

 

The woman nodded, adjusting a dreadlock that had found its way to her shoulder. “We will all leave behind these people, find our own way, and live democratically.”

 

“Exactly,” Wolt went on. “We formed this group to escape the radical government, but this is one.”

 

“Yeah!” Blossom’s lip twitched in excitement. “We never voted for who should be in charge.”

 

“And drama just follows Frieda,” Camelia clenched her fist in the air. “She shouldn't be our leader.”

 

“Not to mention, she's an atrabilarian.” Lewis’s insult cut the air, making it silent.

 

“Now, we've talked about this,” Mavis broke the silence. “No matter what, we still shouldn't insult people. After all, we wouldn’t want to hear that about ourselves.” A few of the others nodded. “We all know deep down they are good.” The group agreed as though it wasn't a well known thing. 

 

Just then, the bottle was handed to Eryk by the sly Egend. Eryk held it to his lips for a moment, trying to understand everything he had just witnessed. 

 

“Don't be shy,” Egend teased. Egend grabbed the bottom of the liquor bottle and tip it upwards, causing the lower contents to make its way from the container to Eryk's mouth. Egend kept the bottle in place for an alarmingly long amount of time. Eryk had a coughing fit after he was finally released.

 

The conversation continued and Eryk only sat back useless as he listened to people he barely knew trash the only people he believed in.

 

He barely felt it when Egend’s arm wrapped around his shoulder. He didn't bother to notice the others’ calls of worry when he stumbled out of the room. He couldn't find it in himself to protest when he was put into a bed that wasn't his. The last thing he remembered was Egend crawling under the same sheets as he.


	153. Character Bios 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Camelia and Blossom

Full name: Camelia Anikta Famosa-Lucena    
Nationality: Cuban   
Known Power(s): Shadow manipulation   
Age: 21   
Major Trait: Excitable

Camelia was as studious as a girl could be. She was in the choir, softball, tennis, and swimming, plus every accelerated class that was available. She had a massive group of friends, aside from all the teachers she was the assistant for. She was focused on school, but she was also completely invested in the most famous gymnast Cuba had ever known. She went to every public viewing of his routines. However, when the young gymnast went missing as soon as the war started, her worry was immeasurable. She couldn’t dwell on him for long, though, for she soon discovered her ability and was promptly drafted. She was sent to the farm at the same time as Eryk. 

 

Full name: Blossom Jasmine Goodwin 

Nationality: American

Known Power(s): Memory Erasure

Age: 21

Major Trait: Systematic

As a young girl, Blossom grew up watching her sisters go from boy to boy as they moved school to school. Blossom didn’t seem to pick up on the hobby that her siblings seemed to love so much. She enjoyed watching it though. While she didn’t wish for her sisters’ peril, she still wanted to listen in on the drama. One night, Blossom caused the ultimate excitement. After braiding her sister’s hair, she didn’t seem to remember anything about a certain boy. She screamed at her boyfriend at the time, calling him a creep and weirdo. Every time Blossom touched someone’s head, they wouldn’t remember things from a certain amount of time. However, Blossom never knew how long to hold, or how much they would remember. When her mother grounded her, she erased her memory in order to evade the punishment. She held too long and her mother’s mind was gone. She was forced into the war immediately afterward. She was sent to the barn a year later.


	154. Reason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a reason for everything.

Isamu rolled over, his back lying awkwardly against the rough hard floor. He could feel small rocks as well as split pieces of straw where his shirt had ridden upward and exposed his bare skin. He groaned slightly before sitting up, bringing the blanket with him. As he adjusted the blanket to sit on his shoulders, he rubbed at his eye in order to help the waking up process.

When the blankets next to him shifted, he tensed up. He hadn’t realized someone else was lying with him. He looked over the mound of messy golden orange hair to see Frieda with her cracked glasses discarded a meter away. 

 

Keeping the blanket wrapped around himself, Isamu stood up from the modest pile of comfort. He made his way across the barn towards the front where he saw Lolias with his head craned backwards to rest against the wall of the barn. Isamu approached slowly, wondering how long after he had fallen asleep had Lolias followed suit. 

 

Isamu reached out and grabbed the tip of Lolias’s finger. He placed his head against his wrist, nuzzling it slightly. A smile found its way to Isamu’s face as he reminisced on Lolias’s sweet words to him. His only wish was that there were more to remember. Only, it was an inappropriate wish. He was being selfish asking for such things. He sighed, detaching himself from Lolias.

 

He held his blanket closer to himself and tighter while he walked towards the doors of the barn. There was only one person who could keep Kieren under control, he knew his responsibility. He had no idea what Kieren had done with their being apart so long. 

 

“You’re awake,” Isamu heard a perky but quiet voice close to him. He glanced around the dark room to try and find the person. He located a chunky girl sitting against the split in the entryway that signified two separate doors. “Lolias and I just switched shifts,” Candy told him.

 

Isamu cocked his head. “Shifts?”

 

“Yeah,” Candy gestured towards the door. “We’ve been keeping guard, just to make sure no one comes in to bother you two. Frieda and you I mean.”

 

Isamu nodded. “Thanks, but you can stop worrying about me now.”

 

Candy frowned as she stuck her neck outward. “What?”

 

“I’ve caused you all enough trouble, just forget about me.” Isamu moved towards the door, reaching out to open it.

 

“Isamu, we all are helping you because we want to,” Candy grabbed his hand, quickly standing up. “You don’t have to go back.”

 

“Candy, let me go.”

 

The door suddenly quaked with the sound of pounding knuckles against the other side. Fear immediately took Isamu over, making his body rigid and tight after being so relaxed only moments ago. The sound was of two hands for certain, at completely different tempos.

 

Candy reached for the door. “No, wait!” Isamu barely said under his breath, but the door was already opening. As soon as it opened less than a meter, two young men barrelled inside.

 

“Isamu,” Tadaaki said breathlessly. He hunched over to grab his own knees. “It’s Kieren…” Tadaaki attempted to speak, but his erratic breathing caused him to stop short.

 

“Kieren,” Sachi took over for him. “He’s been looking for you. No one has said anything yet, but I’m sure the next place he’ll check is out here.” Isamu glanced over his shoulder at Lolias. His fist tightened in on themselves as he remembered the massive burn that scarred his arm from Kieren's attacking him.

 

“Let’s get out of here before he comes,” Isamu nodded.

 

“Wait, Isamu, don’t,” Candy grabbed his arm. “We can protect you, we’ll help.”

 

Isamu pulled away from her. “You don’t know him like I do.” Isamu looked down. “You don’t know what he’ll do.” Isamu looked to the other two from his old squadron. “Let’s go.”

 

“Isamu?” Pain struck through his chest as he heard his name called out from a dazed Lolias. He forced himself not to look back. Once he released the blanket, he jogged out of the barn, following Tadaaki and Sachi towards the house. 

 

They barely made it two meters before the backdoor to the house swung open. Standing tall with his hair pulled tightly in a massive high ponytail, Kieren stepped out of the house. Isamu stopped dead in his tracks. He was caught. There was no going back. He knew, they knew, everyone knew. 

 

Kieren left the door wide open as he glanced around the yard before his eyes landed on Isamu. Isamu’s heart sank in his already wounded chest. He was doomed, he would face retribution, he would be eliminated.

 

Only, Kieren didn’t make the expression Isamu was expecting. His lip stretched wide, his teeth shined brightly, his eyes creased with crows feet. He smiled.

 

“Isamu!” His voice was alarmingly welcoming. Isamu clenched his fist while his muscles in his arms tightened to shrivel his shoulders up closer to his jaw. “There you are!” Fear clawed its way through Isamu’s entire being ripping away at every tendon and artery. 

 

When Kieren finally crossed the plain, he clasped Isamu’s hand within both of his own. Though Isamu’s body was still cringing, trying to close in on itself, Kieren swung Isamu around in the shortest dance move either of them had been a part of. Rather, the only physical dance move either of them had even experienced. 

 

Once Kieren stopped the movement, Isamu was facing towards the barn where he could look directly inside. Lolias stared onward at the two of them, his face absolutely mortified. By the expression on the taller man’s face Isamu was positive that Lolias was far more scared than he was.

 

“S-stop!” Candy called out, reaching out with her arm towards the scene out in the grass. While she did hold out a confident arm, the other was held tightly against her chest. She too felt the fear that umbrellaed over all of them. Kieren glared back towards her, but didn’t bother enough to even move his head for her. “Leave him alone!”

 

Lolias watched the display from the barn. The place they had stopped in the grass was so distant from the barn, so distant from him, so distant from protection. Lolias knew it would only take him one stride to reach Isamu, but the brightly shining sun threatened his life from being discovered. 

 

“You don’t want me to leave you alone, do you, Isamu?” Kieren’s voice was dainty. Lolias gritted his teeth upon hearing it. He was a complete phony, a total fake. After the years they spent together Lolias wouldn’t be blind to Kieren’s tricks anymore. 

 

Isamu’s head lowered. When Lolias saw it, his lip began to tremble, his throat started to tighten, tears emerged. Isamu acted defeated, as defeated as he always did.

 

“You  _ love _ me, don’t you, Isamu?” Kieren seemed to phrase his words with purpose and put emphasis on just the one with exact intent. 

 

No words came from Isamu. 

 

Of course they didn’t. They never did. He would never speak a word of defiance against Kieren. Lolias wanted to scream, to storm off, to breakdown completely, but he couldn’t bear anyone to see him make a fool of himself. It was so embarrassing to even be on his hands and knees in the barn without a purpose. He wanted to stand tall. He needed to rise up when Isamu couldn’t. He didn’t know why. He had no clue why he even expected things to change. 

 

Lolias couldn’t stand it anymore. He slammed the door to the barn shut.

 

“Lolias!” July shouted. Both Candy and her had to jump backwards in order to avoid being shut in the door frame. While Candy stood her ground, July ended up falling to her haunches.

 

He curled in on himself hiding his face behind his hands. Tears ran in thin streaks down his face, working their way into the creases of his palms. Though his mind was plagued with the doubt and self-loathing and anguish he still had one idea that made itself known. 

 

There was a reason. Isamu never disagreed with Kieren, never defied him, but he never agreed with him either. There was a reason. 


	155. Aware

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It gets blurry.

Eryk groaned as he grabbed his head. He opened his eyes, only to become more dizzy. The room tilted around him. He shook his head as he looked down at his own lap. He knew he shouldn’t have drunk with the others. 

 

“You're finally awake,” Eryk jumped slightly when he noticed Egend sitting at the end of the bed. Eryk became all too aware of his lack of clothing. He gripped the white sheet tightly in his fist and pulled it up to hide his chest. “I brought you coffee.” Egend held out a mug for Eryk to take. 

 

Eryk stared at the contents of the mug to avoid making eye contact with Egend. How could they have slept in the same bed? Eryk should have said something before allowing something so risque.

 

Egend laughed out loud, only making Eryk more tense. “You've got that look in your eyes.” Eryk frowned. “Nothing happened last night… between us at least.”  Egend smirked as he leaned in closer to Eryk. He placed his hand on Eryk's fist, inviting him to release his grip. “But it could.”

 

Erky scrambled away from Egend's hold. “Um,” He looked around, not sure what to say or do. “I don't know. I should…” Eryk stood, allowing the sheet to fall.

 

“Wait,” Egend hurried forward, placing himself against Eryk's bare chest. Around Egend's fingers looked to be ribbons glistening a deep intoxicating red. “Don't leave,” Egend placed his head on top of Eryk's collarbone. While touching him, Eryk could feel how thick and smooth Egend's hair was. Egend lifted his head finally making the two meet eyes. “I like you.” His deep brown eyes seemed to shimmer with defined elegance. 

 

Eryk swallowed hard as his heart rate picked up its pace. He knew Egend could feel it through his chest and he couldn't even bother to care. He tenderly placed Egend's chin between his thumb and finger. “I never realized how gorgeous you are…” Eryk was astounded by his own ignorance. The world around Egend blurred away until he was the only thing left in his vision. 

 

“Eryk,” Even his voice was rich and thick, overwhelming his mind in the sound. “Can you do something for me?”

 

“Anything,” Eryk barely whispered. 

 

“Frieda's weakness,” Egend's lips were beautifully plumped with his words. “Can you find that out for me?”

 

Eryk nodded, but barely noticed Egend's words as he was too focused on his sheer beauty.

 

“Thanks!” Egend planted a kiss on his cheek. “You're amazing!” Egend sauntered away suggestively, leaving Eryk alone in the room. 

 

The instant the door shut, the pain in Eryk's head made itself known again. He squinted as everything that was once blurred slowly returned to its correct opacity. While rubbing at his temples, Eryk groaned.

  
Once he properly dressed himself, he headed down the stairs. He was walking to the kitchen when his body stopped completely. He stood right in front of the backdoor. His head directed his eyes out towards the barn.  _ Frieda _ .


	156. We

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arguing with yourself.

“You acted out,” Ellenor spoke to the other consciousness inside herself.

 

“No, don’t even try to defend yourself,” Ellenor replied.

 

The bedding around her was annoyingly uncomfortable. The mattress and pillows felt like styrofoam. The blanket was a sliver that was made of some material between felt and cotton.

 

“No one is going to think we’re reliable if they keep seeing us freak out like that.” Ellenor heaved a sigh, rolling her eyes. She felt like she was arguing with a younger sibling, at least what she assumed that would be like.

 

“Well,  _ I _ think it was stupid.” Ellenor moved to grab the remote, hoping to signal the end of the argument. She wasn’t surprised that there was a reply.

 

“We’re supposed to be someone that everyone can look up to. Instead we were weak. Out of everyone, we should be the ones to have our emotions under control.” Ellenor covered her face, forced to listen to the other voice in her own head. 

 

“I’m a terrible leader.”

 

There was a knock at her door. She perked up from her compressed pose. Her only thought was that whoever just knocked may have been listening in on her for an extended period of time.

 

“Yes?” She called out to the other side of the door. It opened with a smoothness that was quickly calming. The stress of the conversation along with the anxiety of someone discovering her as a super softened as the door swung open to reveal a Doctor Miguel Hex. The sight of the liberal man made her relax even further.

 

“Are you going to breathe a sigh of relief every time you realize it’s me?” Miguel asked, sliding the chair up next to her bed.

 

“The one time I don’t will be the day it isn’t you,” Ellenor melted into the cushion of the bed. “Can you see my eye?” She asked quietly. She petted at the gauze that wrapped her forehead up.

 

“Not at all,” Miguel assured. “You’re safe here, Ellenor, I promise.”

 

“What are you here for?” Ellenor closed her eyes. “Will I get to walk today?”

 

“No,” Miguel sounded genuinely disappointed. “Not until your artery is fully healed.”

 

Ellenor turned away from him, looking towards the massive window. In her head, she heard the doubt and panic of how they would never walk again. Ellenor felt such disdain for the thoughts she had no control over.

 

“You should just leave,” Ellenor told him. “Come back when I can walk.”


	157. Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exploitation versus exposure.

“Everytime I speak to her, all she does is go back to Ellenor,” Eryk announced to the group. His head was in a complete haze. He couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol or the hand on his hip, but he wanted to tell the stunning dark skinned man everything that he would ever know. “Ellenor this, Ellenor that, she knows of nothing else. They’re…” Eryk looked down, he couldn’t help but smile.  “In love.”

 

“That has to be what we have been needing,” Lewis pounded his fist into his palm. “We can finally end this tyranny.”

 

“Okay,” Blossom agreed. “But Ellenor's not here anymore. How can we possibly exploit someone that's not here?” Every set of eyes looked towards Mavis. 

 

The older woman shook her head, making certain dreadlocks brush the flowers that decorated her arms and shoulders. “We're not exploiting anyone or anything, we're not like them, remember. We're exposing. There's a corruption and weakness in this system.” Mavis stood. “Everyone get to bed, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.” 

 

Egend led Eryk back to his bed again. Eryk followed happily with his lip between his teeth.

 

“What do you think about Mavis being the leader?” Egend asked as he planted Eryk between the wall and his body. “Because I think it's great.”

 

“Of course it's great!” Eryk enthusiastically agreed.

 

“Because Mavis is so smart, and collected, and she really cares about all of us.” Egend leaned forward further into him. Their lips got dangerously close.

 

“She cares about all of us...” Eryk repeated.

 

Egend finally allowed a kiss between them. “Good job, Eryk.” Eryk got chills upon hearing his name spoken by him. 

 

“Anything for you, Egend.”


	158. Threatened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The falling of the star, the rising of the sun, the fading of the moon.

Isamu exited the bathroom only to be immediately pushed back in. While he was much stronger than the petite man that pushed him, he was still caught completely off guard, allowing himself to be pushed until his calves met the edge of the bathtub.

He looked past Sachi to see Tadaaki shut and lock the door behind him. Tadaaki's hair was uncharacteristically slicked backwards with water. Sachi moved around Isamu, turning on the shower behind him.

“What--?” Isamu started, but Tadaaki put his finger to his lips. Isamu could only watch as Tadaaki took a moment to listen against the door.

“We need to talk to you,” Sachi whispered. He sat down on the white tiled floor, bringing his knees to his chest. Tadaaki stood behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Tadaaki can't tell you because…” Sachi glanced up at the taller man. “He was threatened.” Sachi's voice broke as tears formed in his eyes.

“Isamu,” Tadaaki moved towards him. They shared a deep eye contact with an intensity that Isamu had never seen from Tadaaki. He searched through Isamu's soul, boring into his eye, until he found the right words. “The sun has burnt people.” 

Isamu’s heart sank. He was glad they were having this conversation in the bathroom, because he was sure he would hurl.

“How many?” Isamu looked into Tadaaki's eyes.

Tadaaki's pupils shrank. Isamu knew he was scared from whatever he had seen, but he still needed to know.

Tadaaki’s eyes were directed downwards as he forced himself to speak. “... Five.” Isamu's chest wrenched.

Isamu clenched his fist. “His reign of terror is over, especially on you, Tadaaki.” Isamu tried to comfort. “I'll take care of him.”

“Hwan!” Sachi bolted forward to Isamu. “Hwan, Kev, and Aki, they're all gone! Gone forever!” Isamu took Sachi in his hold as the younger man grasped him for comfort. Isamu stroked at the back Sachi's head, petting his dark hair. 

The moment was too much like the nights they had always spent when Lee laid in a cot while the rest of them had to lay on the floor. There, they could talk to each other about their deepest fears and darkest regrets. Too many times Kieren was brought up through those nights.

Isamu's heart rate picked up too fast. The beating was so loud and fast he felt it in his ears.  
Lee looked down at them, upturning his nose. Isamu was wide awake as Lee grabbed Tadaaki's hair in his fist. Once his violence had woken Tadaaki up, Lee whispered about how filthy he was for being a super. Sachi cried the next day, he cried too much. The next night, Sachi was the one to be ridiculed for his “emotional weakness.” It hurt, it hurt too much. But it only hurt more when Hwan defended their ignorant officer. Their nights were no longer safe as they were ostracized either by their officer or their comrade.

“Isamu?” Sachi looked up. “Isamu, come back…”

“I’m sorry,” Isamu shook his head. “I've got a lot on my mind.”

“What are you going to do?” Tadaaki asked.

“Don’t worry about him,” Isamu told them. “Don’t worry about me,” Isamu pulled Sachi back to look him in the eyes. “I can handle this.”

Sachi sniffled before nodding. Tadaaki placed a hand on either of their shoulders. Isamu smiled. He wished he could have had more of this before what he had done to himself.

Isamu exited the bathroom before the other two. He walked slowly to the bedroom that was at the end of the hallway, right below the attic entry. He breathed a sigh. 

“Took you long enough.” Kieren sat up from the bed. Isamu's eye hurt to keep open.

Kieren was the only one in the room. Though they were told that there were not enough rooms for everyone, Kieren and Isamu were the only ones sleeping in the room. Kieren had invited Tadaaki, but he never showed. 

Isamu moved to collapse on the bed. He was completely drained even though he had just slept for twelve hours out in the barn.

“No, no, no,” Kieren moved in front of Isamu, catching him by the shoulders before he could lay on the bed. “You're gonna tell me what happened, right?” Kieren cocked his head. “In the barn, and at the beach, and in the semi truck, right?”

Isamu's breath caught. “Wait…” Isamu's blood ran cold while his face boiled. “You know about the semi truck?”

“Oh, Isamu,” Kieren nuzzled up to him. “What don't I know about you?” Isamu only went more rigid. “Now, tell me. What did Lolias do to you?”

Isamu’s head buzzed. Everything around him was getting darker, he wished it was because he was about to faint so he could escape the conversation.

“Nothing,” Isamu told him. “He did nothing.” Isamu straightened his posture as Kieren cocked his head up at him. He held eye contact with him for the first time in years. “I did everything.”

Kieren glared at Isamu skeptically. “Even that kiss on the beach? It looked like Lolias forced himself on you. He did, didn't he, Isamu?”

“No,” Isamu stood his ground. “I told him to do that. To make you jealous. It was all me.”

Kieren looked down. “I see.” He took a step back away from him, peeling his hands off of Isamu. 

Isamu closed his eye, preparing himself for retribution.

The bony back side of a hand that connected with Isamu's cheek felt too familiar. He was expecting another smack, but he was pushed instead. He widened his gaze to watch as Kieren tackled him to the bed. A blazing fire burned at Kieren's eyes. 

Isamu moved to hurry away, but Kieren pinned him with hands around his neck. The grip was nothing like Isamu had ever experienced. His throat immediately threatened to spew while his head felt light as a feather but heavier than a ton of bricks. He couldn't even keep his eye trained on Kieren while heat surrounded his neck along with the hands as his eye rolled into the back of his head.

Kieren slowly released his grip, sending pins and needles through his entire being. Isamu coughed violently trying to keep his throat from collapsing in on itself. 

Then slowly, gently, unexpectedly, Kieren leaned down, placing his lips against Isamu's.

“I love you, Isamu.” Kieren said quietly. Isamu still struggled to even his breathing as he stared into Kieren's horrifying eyes. “I love you so much.”


	159. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loyalty is a hard thing to come by.

Sachi sat on the couch in front of the fireplace, laying his head on Tadaaki’s shoulder. Tadaaki gently held his hand as they both stared at an empty holster that had no wood. It was too early and too warm for a fire, but Sachi wished for there to be something to stare at that would pop and crackle in order to drown out the noises in his head caused by others. 

Frieda stood in the kitchen, in front of the counter that seperated the breakfast nook from the cooking area. She sprawled her hands out in front of her, staring down at the blood working in her veins. The talk she had with Lolias, Candy, July, and Pete had opened her eyes to a lot of things, like living in the moment, understanding responsibility, and protecting what you can, but Frieda wanted more than anything to collapse under every doubt she had.

Isamu looked down at a sleeping Kieren while sitting up in the same bed. A horrible twisting in his stomach kept him in the same room as he felt something terrible coming. He didn’t know what, but he needed to keep Kieren under wraps while whatever horrible thing happened without either of them. While he wished to get away, he’d keep Kieren from engaging in any drama he might find interesting. 

Mavis marched down the stairs, her entourage close on her heels. She knew she only had a few followers at the moment, but it wouldn’t take long to expose the leadership and then more and more people would be joining her. Mavis smirked. She would finally be the leader. As much as she wished she would be doing so more democratically, she knew what she needed to do and nothing would stop her anymore. 

“Frieda!” Mavis made her presence known with calling out to the leader of the supers. The Norwegian woman looked up from the counter. Frieda frowned at the scene in front of her. Ivan took a stance out in front of Mavis. He reached his arm out in front of himself, then clamped his fingers down into his palm. They watched as Frieda collapsed into the floor. Lewis lunged forward as Frieda attempted to catch herself on the counter. After slamming his hand down on the counter, Frieda was then stuck against the then sticky linoleum from her fingertips to her mid forearms. She was immediately trying to pull up and away from where she was caught, but she couldn’t move. Frieda ground her teeth as hair fell from behind her ears, and canopied her face. She let out a cry of frustration, willing the energy inside her outward. Lewis reared backwards after he gasped from the shock, but his power still influenced the counter top. “Gather around everyone and take a look at your leader!” 

“What is this?” Frieda used her guttural voice with her bared teeth to express how she wouldn't yeild. “Is this your idea of a sick joke?”

By the time she had said that, all the supers that happened to be downstairs had come around to see what was happening. A dozen people looked at Frieda as she struggled against Mavis and her squad.

“No joke, Frieda,” Mavis waltzed forward. “It is time to get serious.” She swiveled around to face the gathering crowd. “Your leader has been taken down, easier than I was expecting. She is not fit to lead anymore. Frieda has sent our beloved Jenn to her death, forced us across a ferry, where any of us could have been apprehended, and worst of all, left behind her wife, Ellenor, the woman who can see into the future. Now, we are weak, we will never be ready for an attack against us.” Mavis puffed her chest out. “That is why, it is time for new leadership. I, Villum Mavis Vestergaard, call for myself to become the leader that will take care of each and every one of us supers.”

After her proclamation, a few looked away, down at the ground, or confused. She looked to the supers on her side. They all looked around to the others, trying to understand their reactions.

Mavis's eyebrows were brought together tighter than they ever had before. She stomped over to Frieda.

Mavis took a fist full of the golden orange hair and lifted her head up. “This! This is your leader!” Mavis shouted. “She is pathetic! She is weak, she is powerless!”

Mavis heard the popping of electricity, but didn't react fast enough. She hollered as her entire hand was shocked.

“You--!” Mavis grabbed the woman's head and slammed it down onto the counter with a thud that echoed around the entire house. Frieda's head stuck to the sticky surface with her hands. Mavis turned back around. “I was meant to be the leader!” She shouted “Frieda is useless!”

Just then, a massive man turned the corner of the narrow hallway towards the kitchen. He held a double barrelled gun, which he cocked and aimed at Mavis.

Mavis froze in the moment, not recognizing the man whatsoever. Only, the way his trimmed sleek hair shimmered gold in the light reminded her of someone.

“Get away from her.” The man spoke with an aggression and certainty that had Mavis cowering away. “Now!” Mavis scampered off towards the few people who considered her their leader.

The man walked backwards towards Frieda, aiming the gun at the supers that were staring.

“You!” He aimed it at Lewis. “Undo this.” Lewis hurried over to the counter, placing his hand down on the surface. Once he released it, it was no longer sticky. “Now back up!” 

Frieda slowly stood back up. “They won't hurt you,” Frieda said while groaning in pain. “I don't think the gun is necessary.” Frieda rubbed at the back of her neck.

“That one just slammed your head into the counter,” He aimed at Mavis.

“Don't worry about her,” Frieda reassured. 

“Quite a speech you gave there,” The man addressed Mavis. “Sorry to cut it short. Come on, Frieda,” the man turned back to her. “Let's go.”

“I can't…” Frieda looked out to the other supers. “I have a responsibility…” 

“Well, dad said that he's gonna call the police,” the man warned. “He's pretty pissed someone is out here. He'd probably only be more so if he found out it was you.”

Frieda looked down. “At least they don't know it's me.”

“Yeah, but Arild suspects it's you. He said he's gonna kill your wife as soon as he finds you two.” 

Frieda cringed. “We divorced five years ago, he needs to get away from our family.”

The man shook his head. “Our parents have an affinity for Patriots. You need to leave, now.”

Frieda sighed. “Okay… we will.” Frieda headed towards the back door. “Thank you, so much, Fredrik.”

Fredrik shrugged. “Call it older brother's intuition.”


	160. Character Bios 10

Full name: Villum Mavis Vestergaard

Nationality: Danish

Known Power(s): Personal Orbit

Age: 27

Major Trait: Relaxed

In Denmark, Mavis was always ostracized for her skin color. She detached herself from society, joining a small group of nature nomads. As she was raised, she was taught how to properly lead the group of travelers. One day, she would be the leader to teach her own accessor. That was up until small objects started to float around her. Anything small enough to fit in the palm of her hand would swirl around her as though she was the center of a solar system. She was once again rejected from her home. Though she couldn't find it in herself to hold a gun, she was drafted and forced to the front lines. She was sent to the farm eighteen months later.

 

Full name: Lewis Filipe Juco

Nationality: Portuguese 

Known Power(s): Mucilage Manipulation

Age: 22

Major Trait: Articulated

As a child, Lewis was embarrassed to be around his parents when out in public as he had to translate nearly everything for them and anyone who spoke to them. They hadn't learned English despite it being the common dialect around the world. Lewis made it his duty to escape the life his background had set up for him. He moved to Oxford in order to get as much education as possible. However, when his textbooks started sticking together from his touch, he was drafted for being a super. He was sent to the farm along with Blossom.

 

Full name: Ivan Anton Sokolov   
Nationality: Russian   
Known Power(s): Widhukinesis   
Age: 25   
Major Trait: Anxious 

Ivan was the oldest of four children in his family. It was beyond embarrassing when his siblings rose to the top of their respective classes while Ivan paled in comparison. While his siblings were studying, playing sports, or making art, Ivan was exploring the giant chunk of woods behind his home. It was there that on his seventeenth birthday, he discovered his ability. He could take any chunk of wood, and with his mind, it would compress into his ideas. When dozens of wooden giraffe carvings started to appear all over his room, his parents got skeptical. He was drafted after his father followed him and watched him use his power. He was sent to the farm two years later.


	161. Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eryk gets angry.

Eryk slammed the door as he stormed into Egend’s room. There, folding the few clothes he had, was Egend in front of his bed. The beautiful man looked up to Eryk with surprise which only turned sour when he saw Eryk’s expression of rage.

 

“What the hell, Egend?!” Eryk shouted at him. He marched right up to meet chests with the younger man.

 

“What’s wrong, Eryk?” Egend raised an eyebrow.

 

“You know exactly what!” Eryk flared his nostrils. “How could you do that to Frieda?”

 

“Well,  _ I _ didn’t do anything,” Egend commented matter-of-factly. “Why does it matter? Frieda is still the leader.” Egend turned away, looking towards his clothes.

 

“You still supported Mavis. Don’t play dumb with me.” Eryk clenched his fists.

 

“I’m just being--” As Egend turned back to Eryk, his voice caught.

 

“You used me!” Eryk shouted. His throat convulsed, his chest tightened, and his vision blurred. “I thought you liked me. I liked you! But you just used me!” Eryk’s anger slowly morphed into broken sobs. He folded in on himself, holding his hands close to his chest. He had never had to shout for himself before, he wanted to run off and hide. He felt so deeply about Egend, yet he had been betrayed. He had to speak up for once.

 

After moments of only his own cries, Eryk heard Egend speak up. “I do like you,” Egend moved forward, putting his hand on Eryk’s shoulder. “I wanted to tell you later, but I have something to show you…” Eryk’s tears slowed as he stared at Egend. The sun kissed man took Eryk’s hand within his own and held it up for both of them to see. A light seemed to illuminate from the tip of Egend’s index finger. It showed things that weren’t there before.

 

Around Egend’s finger was a ribbon that shimmered a beautiful intoxicating wine red. He grabbed Eryk’s hand, showing, around Eryk’s pinkie finger, was the same colored shining ribbon. Egend seemed to pick something up from the ground. When he brought the light from his finger to it, it illuminated the ribbon that connected them.

 

“Red string…” Eryk whispered in awe. He had heard the lore a thousand times before. A red string would connect two soulmates, binding their hearts together. No matter how distant, no matter how unsure, they would be brought together. “We’re…”

 

“We’re soulmates,” Egend finished for him.

 

“None of this was about Mavis?” Eryk raised an eyebrow, even though he felt bad for still doubting him.

 

“No!” Egend shook his head. “I’ve always wanted to be with you!”

 

Eryk smiled as he looked down at the amazing string. He was completely enamored with the idea of his soulmate. 

 

Only, when Egend moved back towards his clothes, Eryk saw the shimmering all over. Eryk squinted.

 

“Wait,” He grabbed Egend’s arm. Egend frowned. “Show me again.” 

 

Egend smiled. “As you wish.” Egend illuminated the ribbons with his finger again. This time, Eryk grabbed his hand. He moved the glowing finger all around Egend’s opposing hand.

 

Eryk saw hundreds of ribbons wrapped all around Egend. Fingers had ribbons that had been cut short, other fingers had ribbons wrapped around ribbons, several of the strings ran down Egends arm, all around his body.

 

Eryk’s tears came back. “You lied to me…”

 

“No, wait, I can explain,” Egend frantically spoke to Eryk.

 

“How many people have you done this to?”

 

“None, I swear!” Egend pleaded.

  
“Enough!” Eryk shouted. Egend froze. “Don’t you  _ ever _ speak to me again.” Eryk turned his back to Egend. He snarled through his tears as he walked to the door. “And if you ever think about taking control of me, or Frieda, or anyone else,” Eryk stared at him with his crying eyes. “I  _ will _ stop you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Red Thread of Fate (simplified Chinese: 姻缘红线; traditional Chinese: 姻緣紅線; pinyin: Yīnyuán hóngxiàn), also referred to as the Red Thread of Marriage, and other variants, is an East Asian belief originating from Chinese legend. According to this myth, the gods tie an invisible red cord around the ankles of those that are destined to meet one another in a certain situation or help each other in a certain way. Often, in Japanese and Korean culture, it is thought to be tied around the little finger. According to Chinese legend, the deity in charge of "the red thread" is believed to be Yuè Xià Lǎorén (月下老人), often abbreviated to Yuè Lǎo (月老), the old lunar matchmaker god, who is in charge of marriages.  
> en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_thread_of_fate


	162. Character Bios 11

Full name: Egend Diyako Belkhadem

Nationality: Iranian-Kurdish

Known Power(s): Red string manipulation

Age: 21

Major Trait: Flirtatious

With sunkissed skin and thick dark locks flowing down his neck, Egend was the perfect subject for flirting. An arranged marriage was approaching finalization, so Egend had a short period of time to find a few lovers. When out one night, he started to see things attaching the different people he saw. Red strings would wrap around one person's finger, lead to another hand, or beyond his line of sight. Egend could wave his hand around the strings to rearrange them. Though he first ignored it, he soon took to using the ability for his own benefit. He was caught too easily. After being beaten for stealing some hearts, Egend was shipped off. While serving, he had a whole new spectrum of strings to move at his will. The night he noticed a string connecting a lowly medic and a legendary general, he couldn't avoid confrontation. He was sent to the farm shortly afterwards.


	163. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Found in, found out

All around the house, people were panicking to get completely packed. Fredrik was taking loads of people to his house, only fifteen minutes away, at about seven people at a time. He was currently on the third load, nearly twenty minutes in. He would be back in only ten. Frieda kept making sure of the time on the giant clock that sounded at the hour in the living room.

 

After working her way from the top floor of the house to the bottom, she cleared out any sign that might say they were ever there. Though they could never undo the dusting they did, they could still avoid any evidence that the police could use. 

 

She walked around the downstairs one last time before stopping in front of the massive timeless door that stood to the right of the front door. Before reaching for the handle she looked around to see if anyone was watching her. She opened it with haste, quickly closing it behind her. Within was the billiard room. She breathed in the scent of felt before wandering around.

 

Hanging on the walls were various news clippings about things her siblings had done, fish that her uncles had caught, and community projects her mother had finished. The empty black frame in the middle of the north wall didn’t go unnoticed. She knew it used to hold the news article of her being awarded the best surgeon in all of Grålum. 

 

She moved on to the room next door. There, her sister’s workbench sat with a palette of dried paint still sitting on it. A large fabric tarp covered the painting that she had never finished. Frieda reached up to grab it and pull it away. As a child, it had always intrigued her as to what her sister painted, what inspired her, what she thought about. She could finally discover it. However, Frieda knew that the entire room had been left untouched since her oldest sister died, preserving her in some sort of way. Frieda retracted her curiosity, leaving the painting covered.

 

Hurriedly, she walked over to the room in the southeast corner. She swung it open. She smiled as her eyes crinkled at the sight. Though they had done everything to remove Frieda from their lives, her parents had kept one memory of her.

 

She carefully picked up the small music box that sat in front of all the discarded dolls, clothes, and books. She looked in at the tiniest statues that her oldest sister had painted. Frieda had stolen them, knowing her parents would never approve, and worked for days upon days to make a music box that had every member of their family on it. Though she had to craft herself out of air-dry clay and it stuck out like a sore thumb, she cherished it with all of her being. Even though Franchesca had never met her, Frieda knew she would have made one of her too. She knew that her sister would be proud of her work too.

 

Frieda turned the box over in her hand, cranking the key on bottom. At first it didn’t work, but when she used her power to electrify it, the music started right up. There were a few notes, only five, but they all happened to be in the same key. Sadly, seven year old Frieda could create a homemade music box, but couldn’t write music.

 

Once she packed the music box away, she hurried back to the downstairs, checking everything over again. She moved sheets of plastic back onto the furniture, closed the fireplace gates, and even put baking soda in the fridge, despite them never having the time to use it.

 

Fredrik came in the front door. “We need to hurry,” He informed her. “I bet dad has already called the police.”

 

“Okay,” Frieda nodded. “There are only about ten left, so we should be fine.”

 

Fredrik hesitated. “What about…” He cringed. “I don’t want to be rude…” He bit at his lips. “You know…” He whispered, “The big one?”

 

Frieda crossed her arms. “I’m not sure…” She cowered into herself. “We might have to come back for him.” Frieda moved towards the door. “I’ll go talk to them. There are a few more upstairs, load them up.”

 

Frieda jogged out to the barn. She opened it to see July nervously pacing, Candy sitting stiff as a board, and Lolias looking as though he had just seen someone die.

 

“What are you girls still doing here?” Frieda asked. “You need to leave.”

 

“We can’t leave Lolias alone…” Candy looked up to him.

 

Lolias gave a sad smiled back.

 

“I’m sorry, Lolias, but I don’t know how we’re going to transport you…” Frieda took a step forward. “There’s nothing we have that’s big enough…”

 

“Wait!” Candy stood up. She reached into her cleavage to pull out a silver key. “Ashley says this works across the nation, as long as it has the right logo! It’s a key to all those moving trucks!”

 

“What brand is it?” July asked.

 

Candy frowned. “I don’t remember… It was purple… and white…” Candy sounded certain, but in a confused way.

 

“Would you be able to recognize the logo?” Frieda asked. 

 

Candy gave an excited nod. She smiled up at Lolias. “I’ll bring you a new truck!”

 

“I’ll be right back, Lolias,” Frieda smiled. 

 

She made Candy and July follow her as she ran to the front of the house. She flagged down Fredrik before he drove away. “I need you to take these two too,” Frieda informed, gesturing to Candy. She knows where to get a truck for Lolias.” 

 

Fredrik frowned. “I only have room for one more...” He glanced around at all the seats.

 

“Someone has to get out,” Frieda stated assertively, opening the rear passenger door. There, Isamu sat with his seatbelt already buckled. “Come on, Isamu, Candy needs to go.”

 

“But--” Isamu started, but he didn’t fight very much before complying, letting Candy go in his place. 

 

The car drove away at maximum capacity. Isamu and Frieda started to walk back towards the barn.

 

“Thanks…” Isamu said quietly.

 

Frieda scoffed. “What for?”

 

“I don’t know when I’d be able to see Lolias again… Now, I get to…” Isamu looked longingly towards the barn.

 

“Oh…” Frieda smirked. “I didn’t even think about it.”

 

Isamu laughed. “Tadaaki says Amaterasu sent you.”

 

“I wouldn’t put me up on a pedestal quite yet,” Frieda warned.

 

She heard the slamming of a door from the front. She glanced back for a moment, but when several more car doors shut, she panicked.

 

“Isamu, run,” She hissed under her breath, bolting towards the barn. Isamu held her stride as they shut the sliding doors behind them. They were both winded as they held themselves.

 

“Did they see us?” Isamu asked.

 

“If they didn’t, they heard these doors… why is it so loud?” Frieda tapped the floor with the sole of her shoe. “Of course the entire barn has to be made out of pure metal.”

  
  


“What is going on?” Lolias asked. The two of them looked back to him.

 

“The police are here,” Frieda looked back over her shoulder. “Or worse, my parents.”

 

“There were too many car doors, that had to be at least four cars…” Isamu commented.

 

“So… what are we gonna do?” Lolias asked.

 

Frieda smiled. “What we always do,” She took a stance looking towards the door. “Fight!”

 

“Lolias,” Isamu turned towards the massive man. “Please,” He looked deep into his brown eyes with true compassion. “When these doors open, run.”

 

“No,” Lolias shook his head. “I won’t leave you.”

 

“They’ll tranquilize you, just like they tried to do at Deauville Beach,” Isamu brought his hand over his heart. “Do it for me if nothing else.” Lolias lowered his head, but he soon nodded.

 

They then heard a loud speaker sound from the outside. “Come out now and no one gets hurt!” Lolias crawled his way towards the door, leaning against the wall next to it, in hopes that when it opened, he wouldn’t be immediately visible. Isamu took a step to lean against the other side of the door to hide as well, though he readied his fist for a fire fight.

 

“Under the Treaty of Brunei, all super humans are now to be incarcerated in order to keep peace between all countries!” The announcing voice continued. 

 

Frieda looked down. This is what war had given them. What a great solution to something that wasn’t a problem.

 

They heard many footsteps, then the sound of a few people leaning against the other side of the barn. While the noise was plenty anxiety-inducing, it was the moments of silence that followed that caused the most stress. 

 

The door started to open, sliding the furthest on Isamu’s side. Isamu flung his fist forward the moment someone stepped inside. He grabbed their arm in the same second, letting them lean from the impact for a moment, before flinging them back towards himself. He released them next, so the person came lunging towards him. Isamu grabbed the person’s elbow, digging his fingers into the tendons that lined the tender flesh. After a shout, the person released the taser gun in their hand, making the weapon clatter to the floor. Isamu tackled them, pushing as much of his body weight onto them as he could.

 

Frieda was shot at from two different angles. She was surprised that no one had picked up on her ability yet. She allowed for herself to be shocked by both of the tasers, which only added to the energy compiling within her. She wrapped the cords around either of her forearms once, then yanked them towards herself. One of them released their gun, letting it slide along the floor, the other tried to hold on. Frieda picked up the released taser, pulling out the cords that were attached to her and reloading. She then aimed it at the one that still held onto their gun. She shocked them with the highest power the gun provided. She felt a full circuit between her, the guns, and the police officer. She got scared as the officer’s eyes started to roll back into their head. She released at once, but they fell over quickly after.

 

Two of the three people who had entered the barn had been taken down by Isamu and Frieda. Lolias knew he had said he would flee, but there were at least five more people still outside of the barn. He would be harmed if he made a move now. He also thought about reaching out and putting the one officer left out of commission, but if anyone outside saw his giant hand, he would give away his position. He decided to stay still until the numbers inside the barn grew and the ones outside dwindled. Besides, it was incredible to watch as Isamu beat trained policemen to a pulp. Not to mention, he had never seen Frieda’s power in action. Her hair started to stand on ends as electricity inspired her.

 

Three more from the outside charged forward, joining the one that was already moving towards Isamu. One of them finally gasped as they looked towards Lolias. The giant flared his nostrils as the cowering police officer aimed the taser with shaking hands. He fired at Lolias. Lolias simply slapped the cords away. The cord ends couldn’t even penetrate his skin.

 

While Lolias was not at all affected with the much smaller person’s decision, someone else made it known that it was the biggest mistake of their life. Making the officer look like a ragdoll, Isamu flung the officer Frieda had disarmed towards the one that had just shot at Lolias. The two collided, sending them both deeper into the barn. Isamu stalked over towards the same one. 

 

Frieda forced two of the officers attacking her deeper into the barn, not nearly as far as Isamu did. That left four in the back, two knocked out on the floor, and two still outside.

 

Lolias crawled as quick as he could out of the barn. Just as he did, the two outside approached fast. They aimed at him again. Lolias stood up, hoping his intimidating height would be enough. They still shot at him, around each of his shins. He felt it, as simple as a static shock, but nothing more. 

 

Lolias stepped over the two of them, then got down on his haunches behind them. He pushed them with the palm of his hand into the barn. Right after getting them inside, Frieda ran outside. 

 

Within the barn, four people attacked Isamu. Lolias breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that all of them had been disarmed. However, the people that laid about on the ground started to rise, all heading towards the others nearly on top of Isamu. All of them, except for one. Frieda glared at him as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a phone. Frieda’s breath caught. 

 

She had every thought in less than a second. The man would call for backup, The backup would get here long before Fredrik returned, as he would still be gone for more than twenty minutes. She wasn’t even counting the time it would take to get Candy a moving truck. Every officer that the government had sent to apprehend them was currently inside the barn. The barn was made of entirely metal, including the floor, where each of them stood.

 

Frieda cried out, “Forgive me!” And slammed her hands down onto the floor of the barn.

 

She sent out all the energy she had been collecting through the fight, causing it to pop and crackle all around the metal ground, running up the walls and up to the roof. It travelled across the floor with a power beyond what Frieda had ever felt.

 

“No!” Lolias jumped forward, grabbing Frieda, and pulling her off of the highly conductive metal. But it was too late. The current engulfed every material of the barn.

 

Bodies fell to the floor, convulsing slightly, before resting completely. It was terrifying to see them all fidget with electricity. With that, everyone in the barn had crumbled. All of them, except for one. 

 

Isamu stood, eight bodies all around him. He looked down at them for a moment, but looked up to Frieda. He laughed, jumping forward. “You did it!” He shouted triumphantly.

 

Both Lolias and Frieda stared at Isamu, mouths agape, pupils shrunken, and minds blown. 

 

“What…? You…? Isamu… How did you...?” Frieda stammered absolutely confused.

 

Isamu walked over to Frieda. He was absolutely ecstatic. He even hugged her.

 

“Isamu!” Frieda pushed him back. “How did you survive that?”

 

Isamu squinted. “What?”

 

“I just shocked the entire barn… That’s my power.” Frieda scoffed. “You just survived that when…” Frieda gestured at the bodies in the barn. “I don’t even know if they’re alive!” 

 

Lolias watched Frieda's outburst, trying to put the pieces together. His brain was buzzing too much to figure out what Frieda was questioning Isamu about.

 

Isamu looked towards the dropped bodies slowly, but then back to Frieda fast.

 

“Shock me,” Isamu commanded. Frieda reared back. “Shock me with everything you’ve got.”

 

“Isamu,” Frieda said hesitantly.

 

“No!” Lolias shook his head. “This is madness.”

 

Isamu held his hand up to quiet him. “I think I know what’s going on. Just… shock me again. You have to trust me.”

 

Frieda reached forward, placing her hand on Isamu’s shoulder. Isamu looked into her eyes as though nothing was wrong. Frieda closed her eyes, gathered what energy she had left, and braced herself since Isamu wouldn’t. She sent the current out.

 

The shoulder under her hand did not move, no noises were released in alarm, nothing bad happened. Frieda peeked her eyes open. Isamu stood. When they made eye contact, a huge grin split across Isamu’s scarred face.

 

“Everything makes sense!” Isamu shouted. He jumped with the most jubilant excitement. “Why Kieren’s fire doesn’t work, why Sachi can’t hear my emotions, why Hwan never saw me! And now this!” Isamu released an amazed breath. He finally relaxed. He looked to Frieda as he spoke, “I’m not immune to fire,” He looked with beautiful stars in his eye up at Lolias, “I’m immune to super powers!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY


	164. Character Bios 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isamu

Full name: Obayashi Isamu (おばやし     いさむ)

Nationality: Japanese

Known Power(s): Power Immunity

Age: 27

Major Trait: Compliant   


The Obayashi family was one of more convention and tradition. Isamu was expected to study as hard as he could, learn as many skills as possible, and continue his life in order to make a name for himself and family. Then he came out of the closet. He was ridiculed by his parents for not being as perfect as his older brother and acting as girlish as his sisters. Isamu continued his studies as he started being a social worker. There, when helping a young homeless super, he discovered his fire immunity. When drafted, Isamu obeyed all orders, even the ones he didn’t agree with. He was luckily abandoned in the carniage of an explosion where he was taken in by the Provencal army where he met Ellenor and Frieda.


	165. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An innocent game.

The joy shared between all the young adults in the form of laughter was not only invigorating, but also refreshing. Lolias hadn't thought about his future when Candy had said she would bring him back a truck for him. In any case, he suspected that he would be left behind to face another mental breakdown. What he got was nothing of the sort. 

 

When Candy pulled up to the barn with Pete in the passenger seat, Lolias was surprised by the Prince's presence. Though Pete had often irritated Lolias, he found himself liking the Swazi man once both of their egos had cooled down. 

 

He was happy to know that more than one person cared whether or not he was being properly transported. His felicity only grew when the trailer connected to the truck opened. Out of the mostly wooden compartment came four more people. In addition to Tadaaki, July, and Sachi, Xander was there. Making a total eight people to accompany Lolias. The sight blessed Lolias’s soul. Left behind so many times before, it was a completely different experience to have so many people come for him. At first, he was nervous as Frieda expressed how they might not all fit, but they packed themselves into the trailer with an intimate closeness. It was certain that they all wouldn’t fit, but Frieda took the driver’s seat, and Isamu made a move to sit on Lolias’s lap. That way, Lolias could comfortably have his legs out while everyone could still be around them. Plus, he didn’t mind the sweet Isamu being in such close proximity.

 

There were laughs shared with all of them. It was almost as though the world around them wasn’t falling apart. It was an innocent moment of telling stories and asking questions. It was that way, until someone, Pete, asked a particularly lewd question. Before receiving an answer, Candy jumped in, saying how it was reminiscent of how her friends in high school would play truth or dare, saving Tadaaki from Pete’s judgement, but bringing them all into a horrible game that would end in the greatest embarrassment.

 

“This has to be an American thing, because I’ve never even heard of this,” Pete grimaced, but held a smirk.

 

“Well, everyone I knew played it,” Candy shrugged. “How about you, July? Did you play in Hawaii?”

 

July flared her nostrils. “No."

 

“I think we played once or twice in Tokyo…” Sachi said hesitantly. “But I’m not sure.”

 

“Lolias?” Candy asked.

 

Lolias grinned. “Maybe once or twice, but it looks like you’re gonna have to explain the rules to everyone anyway.” 

 

Candy gave an excited nod. “Okay, it’s really simple,” Candy said, clapping her hands together. “Traditionally there’s a bottle, but we’ll survive.” A few people frowned at that. “You choose one person and you ask them ‘truth or dare?’ Then, they pick, and you either dare them to do something, or you make them answer a question.”

 

Pete laughed. “Sounds risque. I can’t believe you would suggest such a thing.”

 

“Yeah,” Candy giggled. “It usually gets pretty… suggestive… pretty fast.”

 

“Don’t encourage him, Candy,” Lolias chided, but his voice showed how eager he truly was to a shameful extent. 

 

“Why don’t you start?” Isamu suggested, gesturing to Candy. Lolias was surprised he spoke up at all. “Since you seem to know the ropes.” Lolias had to bite his lip to stop himself from showing just how enthralled he was, especially with Isamu on board. 

 

Candy smiled. “If you say so… But,” She pointed a finger at Isamu. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Isamu shrugged with crinkled crows feet. Lolias couldn’t believe the excellent mood the older Japanese man was in. 

 

“Lolias,” Candy addressed him. “Truth or dare?”

 

Lolias shook his head. “Truth.”

 

“Not feeling adventurous?” July had a facetious edge to her voice.

 

“Not tonight.” Lolias gave a shy smile back.

 

Candy tapped the bottom of her chin in thought. She soon gasped. “How many people have you been with?”

 

Lolias blinked his eyes with his eyebrows raised. “What do you mean? Like dated, or  _ been with _ ?”

 

“Both!” Candy answered.

 

Lolias pretended to cringe. “I’ve been with… oh jeez…” He laughed nervously. “Too many to count.” He acted as though he was ashamed. “But dated,” He pushed his hair behind his ear. “Two. I couldn’t really give people the attention they needed with school and practicing my routines.”

 

Candy nodded in agreement. “So now, Lolias gets to choose to ask someone something,” Candy gave a brief explanation. 

 

Lolias surveyed the small crowd in the truck. “Xander,” Lolias looked directly at the blue-eyed man. “Truth or dare?”

 

The meek man looked surprised that he was being included at all. He lit up like a star. “Truth.”

 

Lolias thought for a moment before asking his question. “What’s your power?” 

 

Xander became even brighter. “Everything is beautiful!” His excitement left the others confused, but he soon elaborated. “Well, legally it’s called ‘beauty exposure.’ Basically everything I see, I see it in the most elegant amazing gorgeous way. So, while say… the ocean is greenish blue to you, I see it as an incredible sparkling cyan.” Xander finished his sentence with an relieved breath.

 

“That’s really cool,” Tadaaki commented.

 

“Yeah,” July agreed, but her voice was skeptical. “But how did the government find you?”

 

“I cried…” Xander said, obviously shy. “When I looked through my phone camera, I saw the world, you know, like everyone else does. I cried a lot…” He laughed.

 

“That’s alright,” Candy comforted. “After all, it brought you to us.”

 

Xander nodded. “I agree.” It was silent for a moment. “Oh, do I choose someone now? July?” July squinted at him jokingly. “Truth or dare?”

 

“Truth.” July gave a nod.

 

“What did you do, you know, before the draft?”

 

July sat speculating for a moment. “Well, I watched football a lot, surfed, and did some derbies, but my favorite thing to do was cross-stitching.” Lolias joined into everyone’s laughter despite him already knowing the fact. “Don’t judge me.” July whined. 

 

“Okay okay,” July waved her hands. “Sachi,” July wiggled her eyebrows. “Truth or dare?”

 

“Truth.”

 

“Who do you like?” July raised her chin.

 

Sachi blushed. “Well… I don’t know…” The only two people who could read emotions were going one on one with each other. Sachi knew that July had already heard this answer to her question. “You know…” Sachi covered his left cheek with his hand. “I love everyone. Everyone is so different and so amazing. I cherish every thought I hear, they’re all so beautiful.”

 

“Don’t be so cheesy,” Tadaaki nudged him.

 

“You’re one to talk,” Isamu called out. “You’re in love with Amaterasu!”

 

Tadaaki turned away in a blush. 

 

“Who is that?” July asked.

 

“It’s the sun goddess,” Isamu answered. “The sun, mainly.”

 

“Okay, Isamu,” Sachi sneered with a laugh. “Truth of dare?”

 

“Dare.” Isamu spoke with a confidence that Lolias had never seen from him. 

 

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Candy sounded jubilant.

 

“Watch out,” Isamu warned. “You’ll be next.”

 

“You don’t scare me, Isamu.”

 

“I dare you…” Sachi squinted. “To remove one item of clothing.”

 

“Sachi!” July shouted. “Scandalous!” 

 

Isamu sat up, reaching for the bottom hem of his shirt, but he stopped short. He looked back to Lolias only to smirk. “What do you say, Lolias?” 

 

Lolias's heart pounded hard in his chest. He opened his mouth to speak, but could barely squeak. He shut his mouth and nodded in reply.

 

Isamu stripped his shirt off, sending it sailing across the trailer to wack Sachi in the face.

 

“Is…?” Tadaaki started, but he didn’t even have to ask.

 

“Yes, it is,” Isamu touched his scar. “The explosion got me… I didn’t know what my power was back then.”

 

“Nevermind any scars!” Pete hollered. “Look at those abs!” Pete fanned himself with his hand.

 

Isamu laughed. “I work out,” He admitted. “So, Candy… truth or dare?”

 

Candy rolled her eyes. “Is that even a question?”

 

Just then, the trailer lurched, giving Isamu an idea. “Alright, I dare you to walk from one end to the other, as straight as possible.”

 

Standing up, Candy gave her hair a small flick. “Too easy.”

 

Candy held her head high. She walked from one end to the other, no trouble at all. She even stuck her tongue out at Isamu. She wasn’t at all impressed with Isamu’s decision of dare and didn’t know what he was trying to accomplish by dishing it out. However, when Candy was walking back towards the space set for her, the truck turned, causing her to stumble. As soon as she did, she realized the type of humor Isamu was trying to extract. While falling, Candy wondered of how embarrassing it might look after she was so cocky.

 

She fell into the lap of the nearest person. She moved to scramble away, but the chest that brushed her was so ridiculously soft she almost couldn’t bare to part with it. She held a gasp as she slowly looked up to the reddened Hawaiian girl. July’s face seemed to throb with blush and her eyes seemed so shocked in the moment.

 

“Get off!” July shouted with legitimate anger. She shoved Candy, pushing her away. As Candy watched, however, July’s flushed face only went redder. Candy giggled. “Now!” July shoved her again, still avoiding eye contact.

 

“Can somebody say sexual tension?” Pete asked rhetorically. “It’s getting all too hot in this trailer.”

 

“Shut it, Pete,” July snapped. All around they laughed at her reaction, which only made her more flustered, crossing her arms.

 

“You two should just get it over with already and kiss,” Pete stuck his head out like it was obvious.

 

“Yes!” Sachi agreed waving his fists like an excited school girl. 

 

“Don’t encourage him!” July scolded Sachi.

 

“Come on,” Lolias shrugged. “It’s just us here.”

 

“Yeah!” Sachi agreed. “What happens in the moving truck stays in the moving truck.”

 

July couldn’t stand to see at any of them anymore, she looked to the wooden floor. 

 

“Come on,” Candy said. “It’s just a kiss.” The teasing in the girl’s voice didn’t help July whatsoever.

 

July finally met eyes with her. She couldn’t believe the beautiful green they sparkled. July had to wind her eyes shut as Candy leaned in closer.

 

July felt it, of course she did. She would have pretended to ignore it, but she  _ felt  _ it. Candy’s lips were as sweet as a girl nicknamed ‘Candy’s lips could be. They were like a river of flowing syrup. And when her fingers took a hold of July’s neck, they were delicate fruits, holding her like their blossoming flower. The moment was saccharine. Until July felt the pain of her petals being plucked and the taste of iron spreading.

 

July took a clump of Candy’s hair and yanked the bigger woman off of her. After releasing her, July wiped her lips with the back off her hand, seeing how crimson stained her skin. 

 

“Bitch,” July whispered.

 

“Vixen,” Candy sneered back.

 

Once they arrived at Fredrik’s house, none of them moved to exit the truck. Their games continued long after the sun went down. After a few fell asleep, they toned it down, asking each other simple questions, telling short stories. Two people, Sachi and Candy, fell asleep leaning against Lolias’s right leg, but Isamu remained alone on his left. Tadaaki sat up against Sachi, clearly displaying how he was the only one he was comfortable with. July curled up, trying to take up as little space as possible, but her amazonian physique didn’t make it easy. Xander laid sprawled out nearby. Pete was perfectly straight on the floor with only his legs crossed. The etiquette was amusing to see.

 

“Did you have fun?” Isamu asked quietly. He nuzzled in close to just under Lolias’s ribs.

 

“Of course I did,” Lolias attempted to whisper.

 

“I’m glad.” Isamu nodded. Lolias slowly put his hand on Isamu’s back, gently wrapping one finger around him as much as he could. Isamu looked up to hold eye contact. “I never want this to end.”

 

Lolias leaned down to the best of his ability, planting his lips on Isamu’s forehead, rustling his hair. Isamu held onto Lolias’s torso just a little tighter. At the same time, they both said each others’ names in a jumbled mess. Lolias looked away blushing. 

 

“You can go first,” Isamu offered.

 

Lolias smiled, but didn’t look back. “Isamu, there’s this feeling within me. I feel like I’m walking on air, butterflies storm my stomach, and my heart beats so loud…” He looked to Isamu with his lip between his teeth. “Only you make me feel this way.” Lolias laughed at himself. “Big strong pretentious Lolias… And I’m putty in your hands.” 

 

Isamu grabbed Lolias’s hand. He took a single finger and placed it on the left side of his chest. Lolias blushed as he could feel the rapid thumping, just out of rhythm with his own. The smaller man barely breathed, “I feel it too.” After a moment of looking at each other’s eyes, they laughed.

 

“Lolias,” Isamu turned all the way around. “I don’t know how to say this…”

 

“What’s that?” Lolias asked. He squinted down at Isamu’s big scar that covered his hip, stomach, and lower than he could see. In addition to the burn, closer to his belly button, tiny cuts trailed into a bandage of gauze. 

 

In a swift motion, Isamu stood up, took Lolias’s jaw, and held a kiss. “I’m falling head over heels for you.”

 

Lolias smiled. “I already knew that.”

 

“But Lolias…” Isamu started. His eyes stopped sparkling in a magical way. “I’d do anything to protect you.”

 

“And I’d do anything for you!” Lolias agreed.

 

Lolias felt Isamu’s fist curl in on itself. “Lolias,” Fear rang in Isamu’s voice. “There’s something only you and I know.” Lolias frowned. “And I think it’s time to tell everyone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drama!


	166. Guard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keep your guard up.

Eryk couldn’t let his posture faulter. Through the house, he could never tell who was on one side and who was on another. He hadn’t recognized the division between the group of supers until it was too late. Without his knowing, he was right in the middle of it. He had to be on guard in order to take inventory of how everyone acted around him. 

 

“Frieda,” Eryk approached the woman sitting in the dining room. She lifted her head from her hands as he came into the lavender painted theme. “I think we should talk.” 

 

“I’m kind of occupied,” Frieda replied. Fredrik sat at the head of the table, his boyfriend standing at his shoulder. They both looked at Eryk with a confusion.

 

“It’s about what happened, with Mavis I mean,” Eryk explained. He lowered his voice as he heard the door open and close. “I don’t think these people are to be trusted.”

 

“I can handle it, Eryk,” Frieda grunted at him. “I have it under control.”

 

“No!” Eryk slammed his hand down on the table. “I saw what they did to you.” Frieda covered her bruised hands and wrists. “You don’t know what they had planned for you, what they would have done to get what they wanted.” Eryk tried to put words to all the thoughts that had been swarming his mind. “Frieda,” Eryk tried for her attention. “I want to protect you.” Frieda’s scowl softened. “I’d like to be your bodyguard.”

 

Frieda smiled. “I sincerely appreciate it, but I can handle myself.”

 

“Just for now,” Eryk offered. ”Just until Mavis and her posse stands down.”

 

Frieda chuckled. “Very well.”

 

Eryk joined the three of them at the table as they discussed their living situation. Fredrik put job opportunities on the table, but said he could take in only so many supers without suspicion. He said that some of the children they were traveling with had already bonded with their adopted boys, and wouldn’t mind an addition to their family. Lastly, Fredrik told them that they couldn’t seek sanctuary there much longer, that there was only so much for them to do. Frieda understood and didn’t put up a fight.

 

“Do you still have your weight set?” Frieda asked her brother.

 

“Of course… they aren’t doing me much good, though.” The burly man answered.

 

“As I’ve told you, my wife is quite injured…” Frieda bowed her head in some kind of mourning. “Something like that would help her regain her strength. If we need to skip town, I don’t know what other hospital to go to that will accept supers.”

 

Fredrik nodded. “It’s in the cellar.”

 

Eryk trailed right behind Frieda, carefully looking around at each person standing around the house. He forced himself not to glare at Egend, but he was positive that his eyes still shot daggers at him. 

 

Frieda descended into the concrete basement that had no defining qualities except for its stench of mildew. 

 

“I don’t mean to tear you down…” Frieda started. “But Mavis is the smallest of our problems.” Frieda started to scan around the small space in search of what she had been promised. “Plus, we’re far more powerful than them.” 

 

“I know…” Eryk shook his head. “But what if they get someone on their side more powerful than us.”

 

“No offense, but I think Tadaaki is more rational for that sort of thing,” Frieda commented in jest.

 

“That's not the sort of person I was thinking of…” Eryk shook his head.

 

“Well, Kieren is too focused on Isamu, Lolias is barely able to show his face, and we know all about Pete's standing about responsibility after his little speech.” Frieda waved her hand dismissively. “Other than that, who's more powerful than us?”

 

“I guess…” Eryk tightened his lips.

 

“I know you're worried about Mavis because she has her little squad, but if need be, people will stand to oppose her too.” Frieda tried to comfort, but Eryk wasn't being swayed.

 

“Okay…” Eryk paused. “I won't yield though.” 

 

“That's fine,” Frieda nodded. “We'll show we're strong, for now, but when time comes, they're still part of this group.”

 

Eryk grimaced. “They don't deserve the time of day.”

 

“But who else will give it to them?” Frieda sighed. “Now that all supers are being arrested… we need to stick together, more than ever.”

 

Intense banging came from the ground floor. Frieda jumped from the noise, while it made Eryk spring into action. The two ran up the concrete stairs into the house where wailing resonated through the core of the structure.

 

Frieda and Eryk had to cut the corner sharp in order to see many of the supers gathered around a red faced Kieren. He shrieked in the face of the proud standing July. While Isamu clung to the front of Kieren, hiding his face, struggling to hold him back, July simply stared at the outrageous scene in front of her.

 

Eryk was appalled at the profanities that Kieren shouted at July. Some words, he didn't even know of. The way Isamu actively held Kieren back made no sense. He forced him towards the wall, yet refused to show his face.

 

“You don't know the first thing about Lolias.” July gritted her teeth and flared her nostrils at Kieren.

 

“You think that giant gives a damn about you?!” Kieren snarled as he asked July. “He only cares about himself and will never care about anything else except his own infamy!” 

 

July rolled her eyes. “He seems to care about Isamu a lot more than you do.” Her voice was cold and callous, but much more relaxed than Kieren.

 

“Then it seems he has you just as fooled as he has Isamu!” Kieren attempted to lunge at July, but Isamu made sure he wouldn't get any closer. 

 

“Come on, July,” Candy grabbed the taller woman's hand. “We shouldn't be here.” Candy tugged at July, who still stood unyielding. She soon caved into the other girl, allowing herself to be dragged back out to the trailer where Lolias resided.

 

Kieren stared at the two while Isamu kept him back. Both Sachi and Tadaaki followed them once they were out. 

 

“Get off of me,” Kieren shoved Isamu with intent. Isamu backed away carefully, revealing a heavily bruised face to the gathered crowd. 

 

“This is the kind of thing I'm talking about,” Eryk turned his back to the scene to speak to Frieda quietly. “We will never know who or when someone is going to attack.”

 

Frieda shook her head. “Their petty arguments over that love triangle doesn't worry me.”

 

Isamu glanced at her, making the two meet eyes. Frieda gave a simple nod. Isamu closed his eyes and nodded back.

 

“Besides,” Frieda watched as Isamu snatched Kieren's wrist. Kieren looked back at him with a twisted glare. Isamu raised his cut chin up at him. “I don't think Kieren will be a threat for much longer.”


	167. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wants, likes, thoughts, and hopes

Ellenor's legs only allowed her to limp across the linoleum hospital floor. She laughed whenever she stumbled particularly far and Doctor Miguel Hex would hurry to steady her. The nurses and guests around them didn't even pay them a second glance. 

 

It was an entirely different experience than any other Ellenor had faced. She struggled more than she had expected herself to. Her legs acted as though they had never walked before. Luckily, she didn't feel any pain, it was only that they were hard to control. Her knees would buckle, her thighs would quiver, her feet would spasm. However she didn't feel defeated at all. Anything was better than staying in bed for hours and hours, even if it was labored walking.

 

Doctor Miguel escorted Ellenor to the elevator, pressing the third floor button. He commented about how it was the first time they hadn't brought the wheelchair with them, just in case. Ellenor agreed about how far they had come.

 

Once inside the children's wing of the hospital, Miguel and Ellenor spoke of the doctor's husband. He longed for children, but Miguel was scared of a child in the current state of the world. Ellenor agreed, but said that adoption could help kids out of situations unimaginable. Ellenor told Miguel that if he brought his husband in to meet her, that she would be able to see their future. Miguel denied the offer, saying that he would only bring him in to meet her and her kind generosity.

 

Ellenor opened the door to the room with “328” displayed on a plaque next to it.

 

“Three!” Bea shouted from her bed.

 

“Battant!” Ellenor shouted back. She opened her arms as Bea Popped into her hold. The two over the past two weeks had bonded inside the hospital. Bea told stories to Ellenor as she could watch them played out with the assistance of her third eye. 

 

Ellenor laughed as Bea hugged her while still allowing her legs to float. “Comment ça va?” Bea asked her with the minimal French she had taught her.

 

“Bien, et toi?” It felt good for Ellenor to speak a little of her first language, no matter how minuscule. She knew that Bea wouldn't be able to hold conversation. 

 

“I’m so bored!” Bea hollered, flipping through the air. “I can't go out since my stupid ears.” Bea grabbed the furry floppy ears that bumped her shoulders. “They're getting longer, I swear.”

 

“Don't worry,” Ellenor shook her head. “Once we leave here we'll just have to hide somewhere else.”

 

“Ha ha,” Bea rolled her eyes. “We'll be free soon.” She nodded. She gave a sweet sad smile for Ellenor, as if she was trying to encourage her.

 

Miguel led the two girls to the physical therapy room after bandaging up Bea and putting a surgical mask over her nose and mouth. 

 

Ellenor walked up and down the small row that had railing on either side for her to hold on to. Miguel walked alongside her, slowly, while Bea floated all around, cheering her on. After a while, Ellenor could bend her knees with an ease that she recognized. Though she still had a long way to go, she was proud of herself.

 

Miguel wheeled Ellenor back to drop Bea off in her designated room after Ellenor had gotten tired. 

 

“A little boy,” Miguel said in the elevator. “That's what I would want.”

 

Ellenor chuckled. “So you do reciprocate your husband's feelings?”

 

“Of course I do…” Miguel smiled with content. “I want it more than anything.”

 

Miguel didn't have to help Ellenor into bed for the third time that week. Neither of them said it, but it was noticed. 

 

“His children will grow up to be successful,” The other voice inside her head spoke to Ellenor.

 

“Of course they will,” Ellenor laughed. “He takes such good care of us after all.”

 

“Even better care of Bea, do you agree?”  Ellenor moved towards the bathroom. “I mean, she's grown so much so fast. Did you see how she comforted you? She used to be so narcissistic.” Ellenor stood in front of the mirror as she moved the bandaging off of her head to allow her eye to have some light. “Aren’t you proud?” The eye's color was finally revealed in the fluorescent light.

 

“That's what happens when you get a reality check,” Ellenor replied. “You have to grow up.” Ellenor stood up straight.

 

The eye hesitated. It was strange since it always knew what to say. “Are you alright?”

 

“Yeah,” Ellenor moved towards the shower. “I just miss Frieda.” Ellenor slowly started to take off her shirt and pants, carefully avoiding touching any bruises or scars. “It’s just so strange to be alone.”

 

“I miss her too…” Her eye sounded like it was on the verge of crying again.

 

“Do you see her?” Ellenor asked as she reached out to turn on the shower. The feeling of the cold metal along with the silence gave Ellenor a sense of dread. The tiny tiles under her feet felt uneven in the moment.

 

“Always,” The purple eye confirmed. 

 

Ellenor laughed. “Me too.” She got under the running water though it was still cold. She reached back to pull the ties out of her hair. She had to run her fingers through the strands in order to split her braid into one unit.

 

She took a deep breath, letting her face be engulfed by the water. It was renewing to take a shower by her own device, even if she had to keep her knees bent. 

 

“I think we’ll be better soon,” The third eye spoke to her. She sat in front of the mirror, drying her cold hair off.

 

“You think so, or you know so?” Ellenor quirked an eyebrow.

 

“I hope so.”

 

Ellenor started to wrap gauze around her head to hide the fact that she was a super.

 

“Our life is so strange to me,” Her eye continued. “Everything, once set in stone, and yet we change everything, to--”

 

Ellenor cut it off to finish, “To save everyone.”


	168. Truly lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is the protagonist in their own story.

The stomach inside of Isamu was betraying him, flipping over itself repeatedly, making him so annoyingly nervous. He clenched his fist near his chest, but kept his shirt out of it. He was confident, proud, and sure of himself. It helped that Lolias had encouraged him to take action.

 

“I need everyone in here!” Isamu shouted. The few people around him turned to frown at him. Kieren looked back from just in front of him. The shorter man's bun flinched with the movement.

 

Isamu was grateful when he saw Pete, Candy, and July turn the corner to meet them in the neutral tan colored room. He had told them he had plans, but wasn't sure if they would still be inside. As for Fredrik and Frieda, they ran in with a purpose, Eryk slightly behind them. Isamu couldn't believe the crowd that came in so fast. Even Egend, Mavis, and Camelia joined the group. Before long, at least twenty people had come in. Isamu hadn't met every person in their group, but he assumed that they knew him well enough that he'd have to be serious to shout into the whole house.

 

“What's going on here?” Frieda came forward. Isamu had warned her. He needed everyone to know. If anyone could gather all the supers, it was her.

 

Isamu was all too aware of the eyes on him. Most were just confused, others concerned, but Kieren… Kieren stared at him with a rage that he had yet to see. Isamu's breathing was rapid. He was clenching his fist. He was sweating. He was terrified. But now was less terrifying than the future.

 

“This man,” Isamu raised his hand to point directly in Kieren's face. “Is a murderer!” Kieren leaned back in surprise. Isamu held eye contact with him as he glared at him. “He killed his family, he's killed policemen, he has killed strangers, and he's killed his own kind!”

 

“What are you talking about?” Kieren asked him with a false sweetness in his voice. He dropped his glare to instead smile. He slowly moved forward.

 

“Don't touch me!” Ismau backed away, holding his hand out.

 

“Just drop this, and we can go back to the way things were.” Kieren sashayed closed, finally grabbing Isamu's arm and his damaged shoulder.

 

Then, two massive vines clutched Kieren's wrists pulling him back from touching Isamu entirely. “Stay away from him!” Tadaaki shouted.

 

“Is this true?” Lewis asked, hesitantly coming forward.

 

“How do you know?” Candy sounded scared.

 

“He's why Aki, Hwan, and Kev are gone!” Sachi shouted through tears. “I know it's true!”

 

“He threatened Tadaaki, he attacked Lolias, and I know he'll do it again!” Isamu kept up his accusations.

 

“Isamu…” Egend started slow as he pointed at his face. “Did he do that to you?”

 

Isamu reached up to touch his bruises. He was hurt, over and over. Always, always Kieren said he loved him. He kissed him. He smiled at him. But… he never said sorry.

 

“Yes!” Isamu stood tall. “And I swear, I tell you this now because I don't want him to hurt anyone else.”

 

“We have to get rid of him,” Mavis proclaimed. “There's no other way. We're not safe if he's around.”

 

“But if we let him go, he'll just kill others,” Tadaaki said with certainty. 

 

“We can't kill him either,” July flared her nostrils. “That makes us just as bad as him.”

 

“What do we do, Frieda?” Eryk asked.

 

Kieren shouted an aggravated yell. The vines around him shriveled up as he launched himself forward. He pinned Ismau back against the wall with his one hand around his neck and the other clutching his wrist to the wall. He stared into Isamu's eye with that horrible fire that blazed within him. Strands of hair had fallen out of his bun from the commotion. They hung in front of his face and moved as he heavily breathed. Isamu cringed when he could feel his breath on his cheek.

 

“I'll tell you what we'll do,” Kieren whipped around to address the crowd. “We're leaving. And no one is going to stop us.” 

 

“Wait, Kieren,” Frieda held her hands up. “We can talk about this.” She approached slowly, the closer she got, the tighter his grip got on Isamu.

 

“Stay back!” Kieren shouted.

 

“Eryk, get Isamu out of there!” Sachi begged in his command.

 

“I tried! My powers don't work on him!” Eryk was desperate.

 

Isamu gasped for one last breath of air as his windpipe was finally shut.

 

“Shock me and he dies,” Kieren threatened Frieda. 

 

She immediately retracted her hands. “Please, Kieren…”

 

“Move!” Kieren's voice boomed as Isamu's vision started to blacken. 

 

Kieren released Isamu's neck and grabbed his hair instead. He dragged Isamu through the room by his head, but they were forced to stop when someone grabbed Isamu's hand.

 

Kieren's eyes bored into Sachi's as the much more compassionate man held onto Isamu. “Please,” Sachi cried. “Don't do this.”

 

Kieren sent flames shooting towards Sachi. Isamu forced his body up despite Kieren's grasp to get in the way of his fire. Kieren's face twisted with rage. He roughly pulled Isamu away. As he stumbled face first, Kieren grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face down onto his knee. 

 

Isamu yelled out in pain. He grabbed his nose as it already started to bleed.

 

“No one is going to stop us,” Kieren threatened further. Kieren shoved Isamu from the back, forcing him to the front door. He pinned Isamu to the door, breathed in his ear, and then opened it. 

 

He was shoved until they were in Fredrik’s truck where Kieren assumed the driver's seat.

 

“This is how it should be,” Kieren said after starting the car. “We don't belong with them. We never belonged with them. It should be just you and me, you and me, right?” Kieren's voice only put fear inside Isamu. “We should have left the instant you showed up. If it hadn't been for Lolias, we probably could have stayed. But he has everyone brainwashed, brainwashed! Even you, my love.” Kieren reached over to touch Isamu's jaw that had blood smeared all over it. “Without him, I wouldn't have to do that to you.” Kieren dug his finger into a bruise near Isamu's ear. 

 

The pain was always blamed on Lolias. But what about all the times before the war? Kieren lied to him every second he spoke of his own reasons. Just because Lolias didn't cave into Kieren's lies, he hated him. Maybe… Isamu could make Kieren cave.

 

“Wait, please, Kieren,” Isamu begged. He took Kieren's hand in his own and held it to his chest. “Let's go back, please. We can… I can fix this.”

 

“Some things aren't worth fixing,” Kieren snarled.

 

“I'll tell them I made it all up, that I got Tadaaki and Sachi to agree, I swear,” Isamu pleaded. “I'll do anything!”

 

Kieren's look of disgust paused for a moment before it turned to a wicked smile.

 

“You are to be with me, every second of every day,” Kieren laid down his rules. “You must tell Frieda we require our own vehicle and room, wherever we go. She must confess that I am the most powerful super to everyone. And…” Kieren looked over to hold eye contact. “You may never speak to Lolias again.” Isamu's throat tightened, his lips quivered, his heart sank. He closed his eyes tightly before nodding. 

 

Kieren roughly grabbed him by the face, pulling his head across the center console. “Say it!” Kieren spat in his face.

 

“I won't speak to Lolias…” Isamu pushed through the demons clawing at his throat. “Ever again.” Salt of tears and iron of blood invaded his mouth as he spoke.

 

“Good.” Kieren shoved him away, stopped the truck, and turned around.

 

Isamu forced himself not to sob as tears fell down his cheeks, streaking the blood that had been spread all over his face.

 

The surprise everyone held on their faces when they entered was alarming. Kieren walked in and planted his hands on his hips. Isamu followed with a look of unadulterated misery.

 

“Well?” Kieren asked with that false grin on his face.

 

“I made it all up,” Isamu forced the made up confession. “I lied.”

 

“Isamu,” Candy reached out to him.

 

Isamu looked up at her and shook his head. “Kieren is the strongest super,” He told them. “I--” His voice broke. “I'm sorry…” He finally allowed himself to cry out loud. “I'm so sorry.”

 

“It's okay,” Sachi stepped forward to him, holding his arms out for a hug. Only, Kieren stepped in between them. “How could you do that to him?” Sachi cried profusely. “He's my friend! He did nothing to you!” Sachi was dangerously close to Kieren.

 

“He doesn't deserve your pity,” Kieren raised his head up to tower above Sachi. “Besides, Sachi, don't you hate liars?”

 

“Isamu is not a liar!” Sachi shrieked. “You are! You’d deny breaking his nose if all of us hadn’t seen it!”

 

“I’m no liar,” Kieren acted like he was offended. “If you truly think I am, then why don’t you use your powers on me, make me confess.” Sachi gasped as his brow trembled. “I think you’re letting your emotions get the better of you,” Kieren criticized him. 

 

Tadaaki came up behind him, grabbing his shoulder. “Come on, Sachi, it’s not worth it.”

 

“But Isamu is!” Sachi defended his actions. He whipped back around to Kieren. “This isn’t over!” Sachi’s passion seeped through his words. 

 

“Isamu,” Frieda addressed. “Did you truly lie?”

 

“Of course he did!” Kieren expertly placed himself in front of Isamu to keep them from any possible signalling they could do to each other.

 

“This is nonsense…” Fredrik scoffed to Eryk. 

 

“Not nonsense, it’s blasphemy!” Mavis pointed at Kieren as she shouted, “You’re controlling him!”

 

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Kieren loomed closer to Mavis. “I’m protecting him, from people like Lolias,” Kieren gestured towards the backdoor. “And people like July,” He glared at the hawaiian girl. “And people like you.” Kieren straightened his posture to show the difference between their heights. “Don’t you get it?” Kieren smiled. He turned around to look at as many supers as he could. “I’m the good guy.” He gritted his teeth. “This is my story.”


	169. Comply

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are promises to be kept, secrets to hold, and lies to be told.

__

It was long past dark. Most minds laid to rest to allow themselves to process the events through the day. Naturally people would be asleep, not everyone could stay awake to pity Isamu. 

 

Lolias sat upright with his head turned up towards the wooden roof. He longed for rest, but he kept imagining the scene July had described to him. He begged to see Isamu, but July said that wasn’t a great idea. He couldn’t stop wondering what this meant for Isamu and him.

 

Sachi curled in on himself as he laid restlessly on the floor next to Tadaaki. Every moment he had himself composed, he saw the moment of fire coming for him just before Isamu stood in the way. Then Isamu getting his head smashed. He cried more into his hands as the blood spread.

 

Frieda kept her head raised as she had to repeatedly tell Isamu to keep his head down. She was sure that she would have been prepared for whatever Isamu revealed to them. What she hadn’t accounted for was Kieren’s reaction. She would have just shocked him and ended it, but he caught on too fast. 

 

Fredrik stood at arms length behind her, watching over her shoulder as she worked on Isamu’s face. When he helped the supers out of the wrath of his father, he thought that would be the end of any trouble. Stereotypes of supers said they were dangerous, and it was true, but only if they weren’t rational human beings. It seemed one of them fit the stereotype.

 

“I don’t know if I can give him what he wants.” Frieda explained with an uncertain definity. “I’m not exactly in control of every situation we get ourselves into.”

 

“I know…” Isamu shut his eyes. “But, don’t say that to him. I don't want him to hurt you.”

 

“Then what am I supposed to do?” Frieda sighed. “He’s demanding.”

 

“I’ll handle it,” Isamu wasn’t offering.

 

“No,” Frieda scoffed. “Don’t blame yourself for what I say.”

 

“He will attack you,” Isamu warned. “He can’t hurt me, just let me take it.”

 

Frieda made a face of disappointment. “You’re immune to powers, not attacks.” She scolded him. “He can obviously hurt you.”

 

“Just trust me,” Isamu was too sure of himself. “I can handle it.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Frieda said as she dabbed Isamu with a rag of alcohol. “I can’t let you do that anymore. Even if it stops for a little bit, I’d be grateful. You can’t keep taking hits like this.”

 

“It’s what I have to do.” Isamu paused. “Besides, it’s never been this bad before.”

 

“Don’t lie,” Frieda told him. “I saw the bruises on your neck from before.”

 

“What’s the point?” Fredrik couldn’t stand sitting back and listening anymore. “Why are you doing this?” Fredrik didn’t understand the insanity. “All he does is hurt everyone! And you just… keep him around? Even as your boyfriend! He shouldn’t be involved with any of you at all!”

 

Frieda backed away from Isamu to look up at her big brother. She shook her head at him, hoping to silence his questioning.

 

“I have to…” Isamu looked up with pain in his expression, but none in his voice. “He’d attack anyone and everyone he wants if he didn’t take it all out on me!” Isamu scoffed. “That’s what I was trying to say earlier…” Isamu lowered his voice. “When we were separated, for less than a week, a week, Kieren killed five people.” Fredrik shook his head back away. 

 

“What?” Fredrik scoffed under his breath.

 

“A stranger, a policeman, and three of us,” Isamu shook his head in shame. “He tried to do the same to Sachi just earlier. I can barely take it anymore.”

 

“He needs to leave,” Fredrik said with his teeth bared. “He’s endangering all of us.”

 

Frieda took a hold of Isamu, directing him to look up. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Isamu continued. “I should have just left, taken him far away. But I got so scared. I had to see Lolias again. I’m so selfish.”

 

“Hush,” Frieda told him. She had to swab the inside of Isamu’s nose. She cringed when she could feel the concave cartilage bump the cotton swab. “You did the right thing Isamu. Everyone would be mourning if we lost you.” Isamu smiled slightly. 

 

“Besides,” Fredrik joined in with a sarcastic tone. “I wanted my truck back.” Isamu had to push Frieda away as he broke into a laugh. He covered the bottom of his nose to hide any more bleeding. “That’s why you really came back, right, Isamu?”

 

Isamu laughed. He was glad that it was still possible for him to. 

 

“Come on, you two,” Frieda chided. “Let’s finish this up so we can all go to bed.”

 

Isamu got back into position as Frieda continued working on his nose. 

 

“Okay,” Frieda took a breath. “I have to cast it now… But it might be out of place, okay?” Isamu nodded. “So, go ahead and touch it and tell me if you hear any creaking or cracking noises.”

 

He gently grabbed the bridge of his nose that was already naturally dented to feel that it was even further askew. He had to release himself when he felt a disgusting bump that moved into itself when he touched it.

 

Isamu nodded. “Yeah, I felt it.”

 

Frieda sighed really hard. “I’m sorry… hold still.”

 

Isamu screwed his eyes shut as tight as they would go as Frieda grabbed his nose in the same place. She squeezed until there was a horrific crack. Isamu bit his tongue to keep from yelling.

She laid a firm piece of plastic across the bridge of his nose after she had put down a soft gauze. She then put more of the soft cotton over it before finally taping it into place.

 

“Two weeks, and you should be fine,” Frieda moved to put away all of the first aid materials she had used. “Fredrik, you can go to bed, I’ll keep an eye on Kieren while Isamu goes out.”

 

“No,” Fredrik said as Frieda stood up. “We should both keep track of him.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Frieda shook her head. “But you’re not a super. Just play it safe, don’t get involved.” Fredrik gave her a knowing look. “I could… use the company,” Frieda admitted.

 

Fredrik helped Isamu out the backdoor, closing it behind him as quiet as he could manage. Isamu’s eyes landed on the purple striped white truck. 

 

A rush of emotion powered through him. The memory of fingernails digging into his neck made his mind tingle with the feeling of nearly passing out. Another thought of oily fingers digging into his sticky bloody face made his throat convulse with disgust. The image of fire blazing towards him as he forced himself out of a death grip that pulled chunks of hair out made him realize the dance with death he couldn’t get out of. He could barely stand to have everything so heavy bringing him down towards the ground. 

 

He surged towards the trailer, hurrying to get it open. He didn’t allow it to slam onto the ground in front of him, for fear of waking a particular someone up.

 

Heads perked up within the trailer. He couldn’t see inside the dark compartment, but he could guess who was already giving Lolias their company. 

 

“Isamu,” Lolias was breathless.

 

“Lolias,” Isamu choked.

 

“Your nose,” Lolias commented.

 

“Yeah,” Isamu smiled. “I know.” He stepped out of the moonlight into the dark trailer. He walked alongside Lolias’s leg in order to get up to him. “Kieren… he…” Isamu touched Lolias’s hip when he was close enough.

 

“I know, I know,” Lolias comforted. He held both his hands out in a cup for Isamu to climb into. Isamu slowly started to push himself into Lolias’s hand, but it slammed down onto the wooden floor as soon as he put all his weight on it. “Woah…”

 

“Looks like even your powers don’t work on me…” Isamu said quietly. Lolias took his hand and rubbed it with his fingertips.

 

“Impressive,” Lolias quirked an eyebrow. “You’re so strong.”

 

Isamu smirked. “So it seems.” Isamu sniffed, once, twice.

 

“Isamu!” Lolias took him closer.

 

“I’m sorry,” Isamu shook his head as he covered his eye with his forearm. “I’m just so scared… I agreed to something that I don’t know I can do.” Isamu rubbed at his already bruised eye. “I told him I wouldn’t talk to you again… Lolias,” Isamu brought his hand into his chest, clenching his fist atop his heart. “I can’t stand it, I can’t bare to even imagine it. And I tell myself I’d do anything to protect you, but I’m so selfish. I can’t leave you!”

 

“Isamu, please,” Lolias pulled him into his side where Isamu hid his sobs into his shirt. “You’ve done everything already…” 

 

“I want to be with you,” Isamu pushed himself in further to Lolias. “I want to be with only you, but I can’t and it hurts so much.”

 

Lolias closed his eyes, his brow trembled as he had the most horrible thought.

 

“Listen, Isamu,” Lolias’s voice sounded tight and terrified. “I think… if you told him you wouldn’t talk to me anymore…” Lolias had to look up to keep tears from rolling down his cheeks. “Then maybe you shouldn’t.”

 

“What?” Isamu sounded appalled.

 

“It would be easier…” Lolias continued. “All I do is cause you trouble. Just… go back to your boyfriend and live happily ever after.” He couldn’t stand his own words. He allowed himself to cry, telling himself that the darkness would hide him.

 

“Don’t you…” Isamu’s voice was almost too torn to speak. “Don’t you  _ ever _ call him that. Lolias,” He struggled as he swallowed down anything that was holding him back. “Look at me, Lolias.” Isamu bit his lip with a pride Lolias didn’t understand when he saw it. “I love you.” Lolias couldn’t help the gasp that escaped him. “And no one, no thing, will keep me away from you.”

 

Isamu couldn’t stay, he knew that long before he had left. July, Candy, and Lolias all gave him reassurance, physically and verbally. Yet he still had his own truth to face. 

 

He opened the door to the master bedroom that had once belonged to Fredrik and his boyfriend where Frieda had stationed herself outside the door. Isamu gave a somber nod to her before entering. He glanced at Kieren as he fidgeted in his sleep. He let out one last sigh as he sat down on the side of the bed. Kicking off his shoes, he stared down, wondering if he could get away with sleeping on the floor with them.

 

The idea was demolished as soon as it was created as two arms looped around his shoulders. Kieren leaned forward carefully as he planted his lips on Isamu’s neck. When a tear fell down from his only eye, he knew that he was trapped.


	170. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some gains, some losses, it's all fair.

In the front sitting room, Fredrik's two adopted boys and a few of the other children sat in front of the television that displayed a mindless show of performers in clown suits and others in hats that rose a foot above their heads. Camelia wished she could be as wistful as the younger ones. Instead, she had to run through the lines she had thought up over and over in her head. She knew she was stalling by stopping in front of the TV, but she still hadn’t pushed her dignity down far enough to accept what she was doing.

 

While heading out the front door, sweat gathered in Camelia’s palms as she clasped the makeshift bouquet of flowers in her fists. Nervous was too simple of a word to describe how she was feeling. Anxious? Afraid? Ashamed? Even her mind was stalling by conjuring up the words.

 

As she walked, she overheard Fredrik speaking to Frieda. He said how he wasn’t sure how he felt about stealing cars. Frieda gave her justification in telling how they needed to fall off the face of the Earth. She glanced at the purple striped white truck that was already running. She saw that Pete was leaning into the driver’s side window. He smiled and laughed with the driver, Xander. 

 

Camelia finally looked to the car she had set as her destination. Isamu stood in front of it as Kieren spoke quietly to him. Her grip tightened up along with her fear expanding. The car was a shining brown that looked nearly black without the sunlight. When Kieren kissed Isamu on the cheek and turned to go to the driver side door, Camelia hurried forward.

 

“Isamu,” She called out to get his attention. His head perked up at his name. Camelia was surprised when she saw the bandage across his nose and the dark purple bags under his two eye sockets. She attempted to hide her wary feelings when she approached him. “These are for you.” She held her hands out for him to take the bouquet as she hid her face.

 

Instead of taking the gift, Isamu asked, “What for?”

 

Camelia looked up to him. “I just never knew what you had done.” Her rehearsed lines were falling apart. “I mean, you do so much-- I mean--!”

 

Isamu smiled, taking the flowers. “Thank you,” He made it simple. “You really didn’t have to.”

 

Camelia made her way back into the house with haste after Isamu had climbed into the car with Kieren. When she made it to the game room at the back of the house, she was breathless.

 

“How’d it go?” Blossom asked.

 

“What did you say?” Lewis pushed.

 

“I panicked!” Camelia confessed. “Kieren was there, and Isamu was all sweet, and he had a black eye, and I just, ugh!” She covered her eyes, hiding in the sweaty palms of her hands.

 

“I hope you don’t add him to the list of guys you like,” Blossom teased.

 

“It wasn’t like that!” Camelias whined. “It was, he was just so calm, you know? How can he be like that when his life is… that?”

 

“Isamu’s a good ally,” Mavis entered the conversation. “We thought wrong of him. He’s stronger than any of us could have ever imagined.”

 

“He’s not just strong,” Ivan corrected. “He’s got something that we don’t.” Everyone waited a moment for Ivan to say what that something was, but he said no more words.

 

“What about Kieren, then?” Lewis asked. “He is a threat to all of us.”

 

“I know,” Mavis shook her head. “The issue is, he’s the most powerful super here. Frieda said so herself. He’d be difficult to take down.”

 

“Maybe…” Wolt started hesitantly. “Maybe it’s not Kieren we need to get rid of.” Wolt looked up to see the confused expressions the others gave. “We failed in taking control, no one else had joined us, and now we know a killer lives among us.”

 

“What’s your point?” Mavis quirked an eyebrow.

 

“If Kieren won’t leave this group, then maybe we should.” Wolt was confident in his idea, but he knew others wouldn’t approve.

 

“What about safety in numbers?” Blossom shot him down.

 

“Who else will accept us?” Lewis scoffed.

 

“I understand what you’re saying,” Mavis explained. “But this group of supers is incredibly powerful. With Ellenor being able to see the future, almost nothing can touch us.”

 

“I agree, but that’s the exact reason we’re being chased,” Wolt went on. “The Provencal army needs Ellenor, they follow us in order to get her back. This group is the worst one we could possibly be in. I say, if we lay low for a while, we could go back into the world without people ever knowing we’re supers.” Mavis’s face softened. Wolt knew that she was at least considering his idea.

 

“If we all stick together…” Mavis looked to Lewis. “Maybe it could work.”

 

“Especially if it got the police off our tails…” Ivan agreed.

 

“Yes, and if it was just the seven of us, it would be much more manageable,” Lewis seemed to contemplate.

 

“What?” Camelia was outraged. “How could you say that after everything we just saw?” She slammed her foot down onto the ground. “Everyone has to be here, for each other. Everyone needs protection!”

 

“Your heart is in the right place,” Mavis came to pat her shoulder. “But we have ourselves to worry about too.”

 

Camelia hit her away. “Don’t act all condescending to me! I know what I’m talking about.” Camelia flared her nostrils and balled her fists. “You’re all selfish, you know that? Ellenor protects us, Frieda fights for us, and Isamu does the same. And yet you wouldn’t do anything for them!”

 

“This isn’t about them, it’s about us!” Wolt tried to push his views onto her, but she was sick of it.

 

“No, it’s not! You have no room to talk.” She pointed aggressively at Wolt. “All you do is complain about Candy, but all she does is make food edible for us. I’m sick of it!” Camelia stormed away. “I won’t be selfish anymore.”

 

When Camelia heard footsteps behind her she whipped around. She made eye contact with the approaching Mavis as she grabbed the shadow that was on the ground and lifted it up to create a wall of darkness between herself and the woman she had once respected.

 

Camelia charged through the house, hoping that the cars out front hadn’t left yet. She made a beeline for the car that Kieren and Isamu sat in.

 

“Isamu,” She yelled his name again. He looked over at her, frowned, and then opened his door. When he stood Camelia stopped right in front of him, stiffly holding her body. “You don’t know this, but I hated you.” Isamu’s face was beyond confusion. “And I had to tell you I’m sorry. I don’t actually hate you, I was just jealous of you, but I’m not anymore, well, maybe I am a little bit, but you’re way better than I thought you were. And I think maybe,” Camelia shut her eyes. “You’re my hero!” 

 

Isamu seemed taken aback, but he soon smiled. “Thank you, but,” Isamu shook his head. “I’m not someone you should look up to.”

 

“Isamu,” A low voice came from inside the car. “Let’s go.”

 

“Thanks again,” Isamu expressed his gratitude as he placed himself back down into the car. Camelia smiled as he buckled his seat belt, but her expression fell fast when she saw shriveled up flowers on the center console. They looked as though they had been gently held over a raging fire. The younger girl could only watch as the car pulled off. 

 

She forced herself to look away, no matter how painful it was to leave Isamu so susceptible. Only, when she turned to look behind her, she saw Mavis along with all the people she had just yelled at speaking with Frieda. She hated that look of power that Mavis held and wished the one of surprise that Frieda wore would go away.;

 

Mavis moved her hands in relaxed gestures. The woman was too orchestrated all the time. It was as though every word and movement she made was in order to coerce someone into doing what she wanted them to. 

 

As Camelia approached, she could hear more of the conversation. 

 

“If I were you, I wouldn’t do this,” Frieda warned. “As much as we are persecuted, we still have a security here that I don’t think you see.”

 

“But there’s something you don’t understand,” Wolt glared at her. “We’re not like you, or Lolias, or Kieren.”

 

“Excuse me?” Frieda snapped.

 

“What Wolt means to say is that you are all supers,” Mavis explained, “But we are more like… gifted humans. You understand, don’t you, Frieda?”

 

Frieda sighed. “I can’t stop you from whatever you plan on doing,” Frieda glanced back towards Eryk. He gave her a disapproving look. “But don’t you take anyone else down with you, okay?”

 

Mavis smirked. “I knew you would be rational with me.” 

 

Frieda rolled her eyes. “I think you should go.”

 

“That’s exactly what I intend to do,” Salt was peppered in Mavis’s tone. 

 

As her and her ridiculous posse made their way into a single large vehicle, Mavis shook her head towards Camelia. Camelia simply raised her chin up and held eye contact with her. She had seen Isamu do the exact same thing to defy Kieren. It was the hardest thing she had ever done.


	171. Was it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Was it justified? Was it better? Was it right?

Ellenor could successfully walk from one side of her room to the other without any issue. It was after the third back and forth cycle that her legs would eventually give out. She didn’t mind though, she was making it further and further everyday. Doctor Miguel spoke of how surprised he was of her fast recovery. He told her that it was her determination and her determination alone that made everything possible so fast. She wished she could say the same for Bea, but her tendon that had been broken was vital for walking. They said if she had gotten in as soon as it happened, it might have been fixable. The time they waited ended in Bea’s patella tendon dying completely. She was grateful that Bea was okay with it, since she could float, but she wanted them both to have a successful recovery.

 

Bea went from floating in circles around Ellenor as she walked to laying on her bed and adjusting the various heights. Ellenor would laugh at the jokes Bea would crack about the way she walked and the stories Bea told of the other supers. Though Ellenor noticed that they were usually about the same four people, she still enjoyed getting to know the group she had assembled in a backwards sort of way. While Ellenor could definitely tell favoritism to certain people and bias against others, she still felt like she was getting a good idea of a few supers.

 

It was getting later into the night, so Doctor Miguel had already said his farewells for the night. He always said that he would come at a call’s notice, but neither of them had taken him up on the offer. Since he still didn't know if it was one of the staff that called the police the first night they had been there, he only entrusted himself with their care. When they were out of his presence, they both agreed that it was a bit extreme, especially since it was barely noticeable that they were supers. Even though they stood out with French and British accents, the only way they were in any danger was Ellenor's uncanny resemblance to the most decorated general of the twenty-first century.

 

“So when I said I was tired,” Bea continued her story. “Pete went and pulled the prince card. He said that he didn’t know how since he had been raised in luxury. I mean, who doesn’t know how to pick some stupid beans?”

 

“Nothing out of the ordinary for him,” Ellenor agreed with her based on the previous stories of the former prince she had heard.

 

“He gave in, of course,” Bea rolled her eyes. “He’d talk to me like that, but not Jenn or Eryk.”

 

“Jenn and Eryk, they assumed leadership roles, I assume,” Ellenor commented, but it sounded more like a question.

 

“Well,” Bea hesitated, “Jenn definitely did, but she wasn’t around all that much. I think Jenn just put Eryk in that position because she wanted to. He usually just told us what we actually needed to do, with working and stuff.”

 

Ellenor nodded, grabbing onto the end of the bed in order to steady herself as her legs wobbled. “I don’t see why Pete didn’t take up the opportunity to lead.”

 

“I bet that’s because he’s so young, you know?” Bea asked.

 

Ellenor shook her head this time. “He was old enough to lead his country, why not a small commune?”

 

“He was only nineteen when I met him and he was there way longer than I was…” Bea paused. “I think. It was just a matter of being the oldest at the time.”

 

“Now, Pete’s power keeps him young, so what does that say?” Ellenor moved to sit down, but stopped herself short.

 

“I’m not sure,” Bea shrugged. “He’s just another guy to me.”

 

Ellenor laughed, straightening her back in order to keep walking. “I think I’m gonna go to the vending machine,” Ellenor gestured towards the door as she reached for its handle. “Do you want anything?”

 

“Yeah, but,” Bea shuffled at the coins on the little table in front of her. “We only have so much left of what Doctor Hex gave us.” Bea Popped up from the bed to float near Ellenor's shoulder. “

 

“It’s okay, I just want to walk,” Ellenor held her hand out as Bea Popped to drop the coins into her palm. Ellenor swung the door open, glanced to either side of the hall, and then headed out to let the door shut behind her. The right side led to the elevator, the other to more rooms. She followed the wall to the left, gently grazing it with her hand in case she needed to catch herself. 

 

The once brightly shining fluorescent lights were then half turned on, making the all white walls, ceiling, and floor much easier to the eye.

 

Around the corner, to the right, was the vending machine, illuminating a white light that had a tinge of yellow. Ellenor attempted to jog slightly to close the short distance between the two, but she wasn’t that confident yet. She walked as fast as she could to the machine.

 

The clanking of the coins down into each other through the metal box was horribly loud compared to the mostly sleeping hospital. Ellenor’s head already hurt from the constant binding of her head. She wished more than anything for her eye to be free. It wasn’t fair.

 

“You think it’s not fair?” The eye asked from inside her. “You haven’t shown any sign of protest.”

 

“There’s a difference between what I want to do and what I have to do,” Ellenor looked down at the small can of Solo in her hand. “I hate being here.”

 

“How do you think I feel?” Ellenor could feel it inside her, aching. “I barely remember the sun.” Ellenor frowned. “Just kidding, my memory is impeccable.”

 

Ellenor laughed. “Let’s head back before Bea calls a nurse.” 

 

She walked back slowly, trying to keep as much weight off her feet as she could. She limped, yes, but she was walking. That’s all that mattered.

 

The other consciousness inside her made her gait stop short. She paused, waiting for an explanation, even if she was in much more control than the eye, she stopped for it to speak.

 

“Frieda.”

 

Ellenor forced herself forward, hurrying past the corner to look down the hall at the elevator. In the exact moment, the doors slid open.

 

That golden orange hair was still shining despite the dim lighting. 

 

Moments ago, Ellenor forced the urge to run down deep inside her, but in that moment, her confidence peaked. Along with a burst of joy rushing through her mind from the purple eye, her own thoughts were overwhelmed with joy.

 

She forced herself to run down the hallway, her bandages slipping with every step. When the eye on her forehead was exposed enough to see Frieda, a different kind of emotion came to her. She had barely made it halfway down the vast corridor when she had to stop again.

 

Feelings bloomed inside her chest, boiling, burning. She, they had been left behind. Frieda, an amazing doctor, had supposedly left them in the right hands because she couldn’t take care of them. It hurt, it hurt more than Ellenor had realized. She barely recognized the things she was feeling. Was it betrayal? Was it loneliness? Was it that Frieda was the only person she had ever spoken to without a Provencal filter over her and she had just left her behind without a second thought?

 

She had scolded the eye. She had been embarrassed for her outbursts. In the following days, weeks, she had suppressed the memories until there wasn’t anymore pain. She thought her eye had been alone in the ridiculous feelings, that she wouldn’t have to face it anymore. Yet, the reunion she had been hoping for, wishing for, only made her hurt more than before.

 

“Ellenor!” Frieda called down the quiet hallway. It only got worse. Ellenor curled in on herself covering her own eyes with her palms. The big purple eye snapped open. It stared at Frieda, relaying to Ellenor’s mind the things Frieda had done without her. There were moments Ellenor could have been there for her, others where Ellenor could have protected her, others where Ellenor would have stood for her. Tears streamed down her face from the two tear ducts the eye controlled.

 

“You left us,” Ellenor spoke for herself. She raised her head to look at Frieda. “We begged you.” Ellenor’s nails dug into her palms. “And you let Mavis, and the police, and Kieren attack you. I would have stopped it all!” Frieda was frozen where she stood just outside the elevator. She seemed to be in shock as she made no offers of opposition or denial. “All I wanted was for you to come back…” Ellenor along with the eye reached their arms out for Frieda.

 

The smaller woman released a choked breath as she finally crumbled. She came sprinting down the corridor to collide into Ellenor’s chest, getting wrapped up in a warm embrace.

 

“I’m sorry,” Frieda’s chest shook. “I’m so sorry.” She rubbed her face into Ellenor’s shoulder. “I don’t know what I’m doing. Everything is so… so confusing. Nothing is defined. Nothing-- nothing…”

 

Ellenor hugged her tighter. “Never mind all that…” She wiped some of the salty drops off of her face. “We love you so much.” She pushed back at Frieda’s shoulders to look her in the eyes. Her eyes gave her a sweetness that her frown couldn’t give. Ellenor simply smiled, tilting her chin up. “Let’s get Bea and get out of here.” When she looked past Frieda, she saw the path she had to walk everyday without her. She shut her eyes, trying to force the thoughts away. It hurt so much, but she had gotten what she wanted. What was wrong? Frieda had come back. Everything was better. Wasn’t it?


	172. You're on

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new game.

July sat with her arms crossed against the plywood wall of the moving compartment. She couldn't help the way her nose twitched when she looked over at the way Candy laid her head on Lolias with her eyes shut. July huffed when she looked away from the two. Lolias's breathing had evened out more than an hour ago, she couldn't tell if Candy's had too, but she sat wide awake next to the two of them who were obviously resting. She wouldn't admit she was pouting right there.

 

She stood, holding her fists tightly to her sides. So Candy just drove the car for Lolias once and suddenly they're best friends? What kind of sense did that make? July had spent countless nights helping Lolias through things. Not to mention the two of them practiced gymnastics routines. They had talked together more than anyone ever had! All Candy ever did was ramble in Lolias's face. Did they even talk to each other? Candy wouldn't even be able to understand some of the things Lolias had told July. 

 

July turned her nose up at the thought. She started to pace across the small space that wasn't covered by Lolias's legs. She would often shake her head and scoff at the words blazing through her mind. However she strained herself from the other things she wished to do, like gnash her teeth or stomp her feet.

 

A month ago, Candy would have been too scared to even interact with Lolias. The rambunctious girl was only friends with the other Americans.

 

July glanced back at the sleeping girl again. Who did she think she was? Candy quirked an eyebrow at her, pursing her pure honey lips in confusion.

 

July quickly turned back around and hid her face in her hands. She had been awake the whole time? July forced herself not to groan as her face heated her hands. Candy had seen her had her stupid fit.

 

“Why aren't you asleep?” Candy asked in a hushed tone.

 

“Why aren't you asleep?” July repeated in a much harsher voice, whipping around with an intense scowl directed to Candy. Luckily, she knew, unlike Candy, that Lolias was a deep sleeper.

 

Candy sat up, pushing herself off of Lolias. “I have a lot on my mind.”

 

“Well so do I,” July crossed her arms and upturned her lip.

 

There was a moment of silence where July thought she had won.

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Candy suggested.

 

“Yes, I would,” July stated. Candy opened her mouth, but she was cut short. “With Lolias, but  _ you're _ always around.”

 

“Is it something you don't want me to know?” Candy stood, slowly approaching while holding herself against the side of the truck. “You can tell me anything, you know.”

 

July scoffed while rolling her eyes. “Why? You don't even know me.”

 

“I'd like to,” Candy smiled. “We could all be friends.” She reached her hand out for July to take. July's nose twitched

 

Swiftly, the Hawaiian woman snatched the stout girl's wrist and shoved her. Candy gasped as she turned her hand to a fist. The grip on her obviously scared her. She grabbed at July's wrist, attempting to pull her off. 

 

“How stupid could you be? We are  _ not _ friends,” July snarled quietly into Candy's ear. She could actually feel the flush from her face. “You're annoying, obnoxious, and selfish. I just want to be with  _ my _ best friend and you act like you can replace me.”

“Is that really what you think?” To escape her grasp, Candy shoved her elbow into July's ribs. “Then so be it.” Candy's excited behavior was back as that voice of icing rang out in a perky tone. “The game is on.”

 

“What?” July snapped her teeth.

 

Candy planted her hands on her hips. “Who can get closer to Lolias? Whoever knows him better wins!” Candy put her hand out straight out in front of her in the gesture of a handshake. 

 

July glared, but then her expression softened into her typical facetious smile. “Isn’t this kind of messed up? Like… shouldn’t we include Lolias in this?” July was only skeptical since Candy was the one she had to agree with.

 

Candy smirked, showing her canine teeth. “If you knew Lolias like I do, you’d know he’d be all for this,” She spoke with sugar coating her voice.

 

July quickly took Candy’s hand to shake. She was once again embarrassed by the syrupy woman. She agreed to the challenge, “You’re on.”


	173. Braid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are we gonna have a problem?

Ellenor stared out the window with her chin propped up on her hand and her elbow on the plastic interior of the car. It was getting close to somewhere around four in the morning. The eye and her had both agreed that they couldn’t miss a second of the sun rising. Though her smile had yet to make an appearance, she was still happy to have wind on her face and stars in her eyes.

 

Turning back around to the front, Eryk stopped checking on Ellenor. Since Frieda became his priority and Ellenor was her priority, he took the liberty of assuming the role as both of their bodyguards. He wasn’t sure if Ellenor was entirely for that, since when he took over helping her walk instead of Frieda she avoided looking at his face.

 

After putting the car into park, Frieda released an exasperated breath. She let herself lean against the headrest for a moment before turning the car off.

 

“Where are we?” Eryk asked. He looked up at the bright red colored houses.

 

“Hopefully somewhere that accepts supers,” Frieda hopped out of the car. “I’ll go talk to someone, you stay here, wait for the others.”

 

Frieda walked at a brisk pace, weaving between trees, in order to get to the lobby. Though she couldn’t read the swedish signs, she was sure someone would speak english. She entered through the large white door that had been discolored to beige.

 

A small girl sat up fast, startled by her shutting the door, from her position at the desk. Frieda gave a little wave.

 

“Sorry, I know it’s late,” Frieda started.

 

“Do you have a reservation?” The girl interrupted.

 

“No,” Frieda admitted, “I actually don’t have a phone.”

 

The girl heaved a sigh. “It’s fine… we haven’t had customers in weeks.” She looked overly defeated and tired. “How many?”

 

“Well, that’s the issue,” Frieda walked up to the desk where she could speak quietly to the girl despite the fact that no one was in sight. “There’s quite a few of us. And…” Frieda glanced around one more time before leaning in close to the girl. “We’re super humans.”

 

The girl reared back. “Woah,” She raised her hands. “Okay… listen, I don’t have anything against you guys, but… if you’re found here, I could go to jail, you know?”

 

Frieda bowed her head. “I know.”

 

“You shouldn’t have told me, you don’t even look like a super,” The girl started to shake her head.

 

“I know, I’m sorry,” Frieda leaned forward. “But there’s more of us, and more people it’s obvious. And there’s a young man, I know you have a large field, he needs to stretch his legs.”

 

The girl squinted for a second, but then she smacked her hand onto her forehead. “You have a giant too?”

 

“I know,” Frieda cringed away, “I’m sorry.” 

 

“Listen,” The girl rubbed at one of her temples as she worked through the plan. “I’m going to have to ask my girlfriend if this is okay. Her parent’s own this place, and I’m not about to ruin their business without permission.”

 

While Frieda took a seat in the lobby, anxiously waiting for the owners of the establishment, outside, the supers were regrouping. Tadaaki and Sachi got as close to Isamu as they could with Kieren staring them down nearby. Xander joined the girls and Lolias in the back of the truck. Eryk sat shyly with the even more timid Paul at his side, knowingly enjoying each others’ quiet company. Camelia decided to hang out with Pete who was checking on the kids spread out in different vehicles, her choice was a regrettable one as the awkward tension grew fast. As for Ellenor and Bea, Ellenor walked with bare feet through soft gentle grass while Bea floated idly around her. 

 

The sound of the grass crumpling under her feet was amazingly relaxing. She blamed the fact that she was a super, but she was incredibly conscious of every blade that she stepped on top of. The small pieces bent under her weight with a hypnotic rhythm that had no regulation. Underneath her feet, she knew that all she felt was real. It made her feel alive knowing that none of her actions were set in stone, that everything she did was by her own design. She raised her head up just in time to allow a breeze to blow her stray hairs back. 

 

“Hey!” Bea called out from ahead of her. “There’s a clearing up here!” Bea waved her arm for her to join her. Ellenor could see the white hairs still growing on the back of Bea’s hands. She smiled. Their lives were so different than what had been planned for them when they had been born and it wasn’t destiny, or fate, or anything of the sort.

 

Ellenor had a short incline walk until she met with Bea. The smaller girl laughed as she swept out into a vast expanse of water that’s only confinement was the pines that waved in the distance. Ellenor released a breath of reprieve becoming overwhelmed with the peace within her. She moved closer to the water in order to achieve absolute tranquility.

 

However, the feeling of her braid thumping between her shoulder blades rhythmically with her steps and the breeze brought her back into a world that was full of gunfire, sirens, and screams of the wounded. She held herself back from entering the water with her bare feet, knowing she would take away from the purity. She walked backwards away from the waves.

 

Her still weak legs made her stumble back, tripping on the rocks under her feet. A wince escaped her as the heel of her foot was cut open. She shuddered at the blood dripping onto the rocks. Reaching out to the rock, Ellenor wanted to remove it before someone else hurt themselves as well.

 

The edge of the rock glimmered in the light of the approaching sun. Ellenor stared down at it. As a child, she kept her braid tight, her hair manageable, and easily tuckable into any given hat of any given uniform. She had told herself it would always be that way.

 

“Nothing is set in stone,” The eye spoke to her.

 

“Everything we do…” Ellenor raised the rock to the sun.

 

“Is by our design!” They said, together.

 

Ellenor reached to the back of her neck, grabbed as close to her head as she could, and sliced off her braid. 

 

Ellenor at first gasped. She hadn’t realized how much hair it was. It must have been a whole meter. But then she smiled, dropping the hair to the ground. 

 

“We did it…” Ellenor laughed. “We’re free.”

 

“Woah!” Bea shouted. She Popped to where she was floating right in front of Ellenor who still sat on the rocky ground. “So short!” Bea squealed in excitement.

 

A strand of hair fell in front of her eye. It amazed her that she could actually see the end of the piece.

 

“Is it too much?” Ellenor worried. “It was kind of sudden…”

 

“No!” Bea sounded personally offended. “It suits you!”

 

Ellenor smiled as she touched the soft hair. “Let’s head back,” She told Bea. “I need a bandage now that I did that.”

 

Another girl walked into the lobby, with the original girl behind her. Frieda perked up at the two of them approaching her. 

 

“Hello, my name is Eve,” She spoke in a very professional manner as she shoved her hand out to shake. “You’ve already met Felix, I assume.”

 

“Yes,” Frieda stood from her chair to shake hands with Eve. “You’re the owner?”

 

“Not exactly, my parents do,” Eve explained. “So, what’s the issue?”

 

“We’re supers,” Frieda clasped her hands together, trying to ward off her fatigue. “And I need extra space since there are so many of us.”

 

Eve covered her eyes, wiping her face down. “I think I need to call my parents.”

 

Frieda groaned, collapsing her face back into her hands.

 

“Ellenor?” Sachi asked. The japanese man called outside the lobby. Ellenor whipped around to look at Sachi. Her hair whacked her in the face with how fast she turned. “Your hair!”

 

Ellenor blushed. “I cut it.”

 

“I love it!” Sachi bound forward. “I think your mind is much calmer now too.” Sachi touched the hair at the middle of her cheek, plumping it up. “I bet you could style it just like mine! Only… it’s a bit shorter...”

 

“So cute!” Candy came out of nowhere to compliment Ellenor. “You’ll have to let me dye it now! I bet you’d look great with a sea blue.”

 

“Really?” Ellenor couldn’t help but get excited over the idea of a new hair color.

 

“Thank the stars,” Pete rolled up next to Candy. “You couldn’t handle all that hair.”

 

Frieda stood as she heard the scuffling of huge boots. She tensed up, worried the figure approaching would be the one to turn them away.

 

The man came out with a proud stature with the two girls behind him, along with another woman.

 

“Why are these two acting like you’re the enigma of the century?” The gruff man asked.

 

“I’m terribly sorry, sir, I know it’s late, but my friends and I, there’s a lot of us and we need extra space. Because… we’re supers.” Frieda shut her eyes, scared to see the man’s reaction.

 

The man scoffed in the middle of a chuckle. “And here I thought we were going to have a problem, sheesh.” He shuffled around the desk until keys were jingling. “Breakfast is at eight, don’t be late.” He sent the keys flying over in an arch.

 

Frieda stumbled to catch them. “Thank you!” She sang out. It was so happy that she covered her mouth from the high pitch.

 

The man chuckled. “Sure thing.”

 

Frieda hurried out of the lobby to bare the great news to the others. She frowned when she saw that they had all gathered around in a small group in between all the cars. She jogged in order to see what was going on.

 

Ellenor was gushing from all the compliments she was getting from her new haircut. She was so distracted that the consciousness inside her had to call to her attention the approaching woman.

 

Frieda cocked her head, squinting at the tall woman in the middle of all of them who had hair just below the middle of her cheek. 

 

In a moment of pure bliss, Ellenor turned around, allowing her hair to whip in the wind. All three of her eyes trained on Frieda. Frieda hadn’t felt her heart race like it did then in a long time. Ellenor looked like a completely different person. She was beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People recovering from trauma—the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, the loss of a job, or our own failing health—will often cope, in part, by changing their appearance. Sometimes, it’ll be subtle, like a new bob or a little retail therapy. But other times, people will feel the need to drastically change their look by doing things like dyeing their hair fuschia or shaving it off entirely.  
> https://qz.com/1002590/its-totally-normal-and-maybe-even-useful-to-cut-off-all-your-hair-to-deal-with-loss/


	174. Dissociation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lolias dissociates and has the best day ever.

Lolias’s back cracked ridiculously loud. He groaned in relief once he allowed himself to slouch. He sat down on the ground in order to do proper stretches. Once he had reached his toes with his fingertips, he couldn’t help that his arms kept going with a tension in his muscles. Lifting his hands high above his head, Lolias groaned as he tried to crack his neck. He sighed in relief, laying backwards onto the ground and reaching his toes out in the grass. He did every stretch he had ever been taught and more.

 

When he was releasing his final breath, a bell rang out in his ears. Startled, he got up from his position. Frieda had told him that breakfast was being served at eight in the morning, sharp, but he couldn’t believe it was that time yet. He used to be so good at keeping track of time between classes and practice, but with his time at the farm and then constantly in the back of a truck, his sense of time must have been confused. It didn’t help that the sunrise was at four here, but six where he was from.

 

To walk towards the sound of the bell, Lolias had to move some tree limbs out of his way. The steps he took made the smell of the most appetizing meal in the world grow stronger and stronger. On the other side of the small red house that was the main office, a huge picnic table was set up with an incredible feast laid out. A feast of breakfast, of course. 

 

The smell took him back to when he had to wake up especially early in order to be able to eat before his long jog. He ate tons of bread, par his trainer’s instruction, avoided potatoes, and only ate real butter. He sighed happily in reminiscion.

 

“Hello there,” Lolias jumped at the sound of a voice he didn't know. He looked down to see a bulking man in pure plaid. The man sat down some pitchers of orange juice on the table. The kind greeting was confusing enough for Lolias, he didn't want to have to factor in that he was also terrified. He hadn't been face to face with a stranger, with anyone he didn't know in a very long time. Last time he met someone he didn't know was when Sachi and Tadaaki introduced themselves.

 

The man chuckled. “What's your name?” He beamed up at Lolias with a look that held no fear. He hadn't been looked at like that at the first meeting since Kieren showed up.

 

“L-Lolias,” He hesitated. It was his intuition, ever since he became a super, to avoid new people, avoid being seen, avoid living. “Who are you?”

 

“I’m the owner of this place, Adrien, and I can say with confidence that you are the biggest guest I've ever had.” The man, Adrien started to pour the juice into glasses.

 

Lolias laughed awkwardly. “So… where are we?” Adrien raised an eyebrow. “I don't know and… don't recognize your accent.”

 

He tried to mask his confusion with a smile. “This is Mora, and,” The man looked up at him worried. “You're in Sweden.”

 

Lolias shook his head. “One day I'm in France, the next I'm in Norway and now Sweden.”

 

“I haven't heard your accent before either. Where are you from?” Adrien moved to the other side of the table to start filling more glasses.

 

“Cuba,” Lolias smiled. “You don't recognize me?” He flashed one of his smiles that would be found on a poster. “I'm the greatest gymnast in the entire Caribbean!” Lolias paused to see Adrien’s reaction before bursting into laughter. 

 

“Are you serious?” Adrien scoffed.

 

“Well,” Lolias shrugged. “Not anymore.” Lolias pushed it off as though it was nothing, but it was all he had ever known. Only pommel horses and had changed to only barns and trailers.

 

“You're the only one,” Adrien commented. “You're welcome to eat.”

 

Lolias held his hand out shaking his head. “My friend, Candy, she should be here first, she changes the nutrition in food. I'd hate to eat too much food without her.”

 

“Is that what you always do?” He asked. “Rely on someone else since you're so… big?”

 

“Yeah, it's nothing,” Lolias waved dismissively. The two sat next to each other as the morning birds sang and the breeze swayed the trees. He could see a few squirrels wandering up the trees. It felt good to know how spring was flourishing. The last animal he had seen was Sunshine. Sadly, the cat ran away just before winter. Life was all around him, in the trees, in and on the ground. Out of his element, he knew he was, but it was good to have a change of scenery.

 

“Wow!” Lolias’s appreciation was interupted by the loud flamboyant Pete coming to the table. “Now this is luxury!” He planted himself down on the closest spot on the bench. “I haven’t been served in so long! You know how it is,” Pete turned to Adrien, holding his hand precariously. “Being Prince and all.”

 

Behind him, Havi and Gabe gasped, taking their spots at the table on either side of him. “I forgot bacon even existed.”

 

“Now,” Pete stopped the two before they could dive into the food. “Let’s wait for Candy first.”

 

“So, everyone relies on her?” Adrien asked to Lolias. He forced himself to laugh in order to give Adrien some sort of response, even though he hadn’t heard a word.

 

“Hey, Lolias!” Candy raised her hand up high in order to wave. She walked alongside July and Xander as they came to the table. Lolias shook his head to snap himself back in. He smiled and gave a modest wave back.

 

July sat down with a snicker. “I haven’t seen you that awkward since you met Frieda.”

 

“So,” Candy started up. “July and I have something to tell you, and--”   
  


“Wait,” July put her hand out to stop her. Slowly, she moved that same hand to touch the back of Lolias’s. “Are you alright?”

 

“Huh?” Lolias looked down at her. It was so odd to see her so close to him in broad daylight. “Yeah, of course.”

 

“Well, Candy was saying…” July’s voice drifted into the noise all around Lolias. His eyes also floated off, looking to the table full of supers. They all sat and spoke with no fears, even interacting with the four that weren’t a part of their group. Lolias had never seen all of them gathered together in such a way that was almost…surreal. Though it was hard to believe, he decided it was serene and… nice.

 

Then Kieren sat down at the table. He was quiet, but he pointed in order to show Isamu where to sit. Isamu sat at the every end of the table, Kieren sitting in the other side of him, separating him from the others. Kieren looked at Lolias with nothing more than a side glance.

 

The heart inside him jumped, making it pound hard and fast inside his chest. He wished that his brain had reacted the same. He wanted so badly to feel for those around him, but his mind was so numb he didn’t know how to speak, how to react. The world around him was hardly believable. 

 

“So what do you think?” A nudge had Lolias clicking back into the conversation.

 

Lolias stood up suddenly, accidentally bumping the table with his shin. “I think I need to go.”

 

Retreating quickly, Lolias hurried away from the table, the buildings, the people, and disappearing into the nearby foliage. He exhaled hard.

 

Lolias hated this. 

 

Once upon a time, all he worried about was his body mass index. Then, all he could think about was his life being in danger because someone had seen him. A month ago, being seen meant death. Four years ago, being seen was all that happened. He stood in front of a huge crowd, performed to the cheering of his own name. Only, he had never been as close to anyone as he had been with the supers he met. There were two sides of the coin.

 

Lolias shook his head. He should be grateful for what he had. Other giants like him had been killed early into the war, according to Danny. He wouldn't be surprised if he was the only one alive. 

 

A sigh escaped him, allowing his mind to reset. Lolias decided he had done enough thinking.

 

He walked slowly and gently deeper into the abundant pines. Not wanting to accidentally smash any bugs under his abnormally large feet, he watched every step he took. The focus allowed him to clear his mind.

 

When he couldn't hear anything but the wind and the birds, he decided to sit down, right next to a thick oak tree. He slowly leaned up against it, resting his head on the rough bark.

 

The sound of his hair shifting, the smell of the river side, the cooling breeze, it was easy to forget the world he was in. He closed his eyes. It took him to a place where he wasn't a giant, where “super humans” didn't exist, and the war never happened. All that existed was Lolias and the trees.

 

He felt something at his shoulder. Lolias cracked his eyes open. He glanced to his shoulder to the best of his ability.

 

_ No way. _

 

Upon Lolias's shoulder, flicking it's wings about, sat a small lapwing. It seemed to be wiping at its head with the arch of its wing. The noises it made were so quiet, but it was so close to Lolias's ear. Chirping filled one side of his senses. It was beautiful.

 

As slowly as he could, Lolias lifted his hand up to the perched bird. He offered out a single finger to the small creature. It fluttered, threatening to take off, but it relaxed soon. Lolias was ready to retract his hand, but it used his finger in order to keep rubbing its face. He wondered if it was real, but when the lapwing took off, it snagged the sleeve of Lolias’s tanktop, causing it to slide off his shoulder.

 

Lolias stood, daring to follow the bird to the skies. He’d never even been that close to a wild animal. The seabirds down in Habana Vieja went extinct long before he was born.

 

As he walked even slower than before, he kept his eyes turned upwards towards the treetops, curious if any other birds might have the bravery to come out.

 

So focused on the branches above, the footsteps on the ground made him jump. He looked down to see a small, thin looking, hooved animal. It seemed to cringe into itself when Lolias shook the ground, but it remained in place. The tiny deer looked up to the giant as they held eye contact. The deer was much more aware of Lolias’s existence than the lapwing was.

 

Lolias got down to his haunches, perhaps a little too fast for the deer, as it took a step back. In school, they had been taught to “get big” to ward off any animals. Lolias had already done that, years ago, he wished to do the opposite to entice the deer closer. 

 

It seemed to like this as it craned its head forward to inspect Lolias. Just as it did, the trees trembled with the breeze, causing the sun to shine down on the deer. It was then that Lolias could see a glimmer of light hitting two little nubs on top of its head. A very young fawn. Why was it away from its herd?

 

As if on queue, a massive buck walked into the clearing, passing the fawn with its chest puffed out, slowly coming towards Lolias. He tightened up, wondering what would happen if he were attacked by the creature. The stag stopped however when a doe leapt forward. They shared a strange look before the doe slowly came forward to Lolias. It lowered its head, sniffing from his lowered hand up to his knee.

 

Lolias peered over the doe in order to see the fawn glancing around, presumably, its mother, to take a look at Lolias. It slowly and hesitant came, but the fawn was soon sniffing Lolias too. The buck just stood back, as though it was waiting for something to go wrong.

 

When he offered his other hand out for the fawn to sniff, it backed up with an ungracious stumble. Lolias coudn’t help but chuckle. The fawn was back soon, though. It didn’t sniff at Lolias’s palm for long until it butted its head into his hand. It had no tactfulness to it whatsoever, rubbing its ears, horns, and forehead all over him.

 

It was hours later when Lolias sat back down against a different tree. The sweet little fawn rubbed up next to him for a moment before fleeing into the wooded area with its parents. Every time Lolias was about to doze off in the warm forrest, it would be interrupted by a bunny scurrying over his lap, a butterfly saying “hello” atop his nose, or a caterpillar inching its way up his arm. Though he longed for a nap, he didn’t mind the delay all that much.

 

“Lolias?” July tapped at the giant’s wrist. He shook his head, opening his eyes to see that it was dusk. “You awake?”

 

He rubbed his head. “Yeah, yeah.” He refrained from groaning when he felt how sore his neck was.

 

“Dinner is being served if you’re hungry,” July spoke with a carefulness to her tone that Lolias wasn’t sure he had heard. It was like worry with a hint of sympathy.

 

“Starving.” Lolias stood cracking his bones and joints. He wondered for a moment about how long he had been asleep, if he had dreamed everything. Leaving his sleeve disheveled, he followed July.


	175. Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fighting.

“His name is Adrien Holm,” Vivica told Jerricho. “This place has been in his family for six decades to be passed down to his daughter, Eve. His wife has been sick for some time now. And…” Vivica paused for a second. “He’s a gambler, but not a drinker, as far as I can tell.”

 

“It makes me nervous,” Jerricho wiped her hair with her towel. “Being here, you know.”

 

“Stopping any place for any time makes you nervous,” Vivica commented. 

 

Jerricho rolled her eyes. She picked herself off of the tile floor in the shower. “It’s dangerous and you know it.” Jerricho pouted.

 

“You need to relax,” Vivica critiqued. “No one here is a threat, and Ellenor is with us, and she’s actually conscious.”

 

Jerricho tightened her fists. “How can you act so calm?” She leaned down in front of Vivica’s face.

 

“I just told you how,” Vivica stood to meet her height. “We’re not in danger.”

 

Jerricho’s veins felt like they would burst. “You’re not listening to me!” She covered her face with her hands before throwing them out. “I feel like we are!”

 

Vivica walked past Jerricho towards the door to exit the bathroom. “You’ve changed,” Vivica shook her head. “You used to listen to me. Then you turned fourteen and suddenly I’m always wrong!”

 

Jerricho growled, flaring her nostrils. “That’s not what I said! You never listen to me, you never have. You don’t care how I feel!”

 

“That’s not true!” Vivica whipped back around to face her. “I know when you’re being irrational, and you don’t!”

 

“Don’t you dare!” Jerricho warned.

 

“Because…” Vivica started.

 

“I swear--!” Jerricho tried to stop her.

 

“Because you’re in puberty!” Vivica shouted, despite her only being heard by Jerricho. “And you think I don’t care? You know I care! You just don’t listen to rational explanations. And you know, you know I wish I was like you, feel like you do, but I don’t, okay? I’m not like you.”

 

Jerricho scoffed with her teeth bared at Vivica. “You do this every time. You can never listen to me and accept what I say, you just blame it on hormones. Well, you know what I say?” Jerricho pointed at her face with her own thumb. “I say you’re a liar!”

 

“Oh, I do this every time?” Vivica rolled her eyes. “You do this every night!”

 

“Excuse me?” Jericho’s lip twitched.

 

“You heard me! You make up the same reason to be mad at me every night!” Vivica crossed her arms, making the metal clang together.

 

“If you would just… listen to me I wouldn’t have to!” Jerricho justified her actions.

 

“I’ve heard it all,” Vivica turned to the door. “I’ve heard enough.” She left, leaving the door open for Jerricho.

 

“Wait!” Jericho grabbed her wrist. “Please, don’t go.” Vivica looked back towards her, glancing at where the other girl held onto her. “I… I…”

 

“Don’t you see?” Vivica asked, snatching her hand away from Jerricho’s grasp. “Your mood shifts that fast, you can just drop everything? It is your hormones.” Jerricho gasped as the cyborg girl walked away from her, leaving her behind. 

 

Jerricho closed in on herself, holding her arms tightly over her chest. She looked out towards the younger supers in the cabin. They stared at her with huge eyes. She closed her eyes and stormed away from them as tears started to streak her cheeks. She hurried towards the loft beds. The beds that she and Vivica had claimed for the night. As tightly as she could, Jerricho curled in on herself, facing the wall.

 

Vivica was right, she always was. She was calm, calculated, and meticulous. Jerricho had always known that. It was why she always sat back and listened. Couldn’t that change? Wasn’t she allowed to change?

 

The hot salty tears that came out of her eyes made a wave of fatigue roll over her. She needed to sleep before she could think anymore. It was hazy and faint, but she felt as someone came in close to her, curling up to match her position on the same bed.

 

“I’m sorry,” She could barely hear Vivica speak. “You’re right.”


	176. Relax

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Sometimes I forget I'm allowed to relax."

Ellenor kept her head down as Candy cut at her hair with a pair of scissors from the lobby. The snapping of the blades at the back of her neck was a new experience to both Ellenor and the eye. Neither of them could have imagined how relaxing it would be to have the hair trimmed off. She smiled when she saw the hairs piling up on the tile floor.

 

Sitting on the closed toilet, Ellenor hung out in the bathroom with Candy standing over her and July leaning up against the small vanity.

 

“I don’t know what to make of it,” July huffed. “I’ve never seen him upset like that.” Arms crossed, July kept her eyes lowered to the tips of her toes. Lolias’s fit he threw early that morning was strange, atypical. The only way she could figure it out was with someone who knew Lolias like she did. Ellenor was her first choice, and Candy was her best bet, luckily, the two of them had plans, together.

 

Candy shrugged with a smile. “He gets upset over Isamu every other hour,” Despite July’s serious tone, Candy remained as caustic as usual. “Seemed pretty standard to me.”

 

July put a certain grit behind her scoff towards Candy. “It wasn’t about Isamu this time.” Her fingers dug into her arms where she held them. “He would have stayed. He would have said something! Instead, he freaked out, leaving the table, even making a scene. He’s not like that…”

 

“I’m going to agree with July on this one,” Ellenor spoke up. “It’s not like him to avoid people when he’s upset.” Before sitting up, Ellenor waved for Candy to back up. “And he’s never been like this over another person. But I’ve heard Isamu is quite the special case to Lolias.”

 

“It's not about Isamu!” July slammed her foot down. The two of them weren't listening to her and she knew Lolias the best.

 

The other two’s silence made July uneasy. She kept her head bowed, hidden in her hair. It was embarrassing, but she knew standing up for what she thought was right.

 

“Then what was it?” Ellenor eliminated the silence.

 

“I don't know…” July shook her head. “He's acting like… Isamu.”

 

“What do you mean?” Candy sounded constantly curious with her perky voice.

 

Grabbing her neck, July tried to think. “It's like… it's like he's going to talk about everyone else's problems, but not his own!”

 

“And Isamu does that?” Ellenor asked.

 

“Yeah,” Candy cringed. “A lot.”

 

“Is that what happened when Kieren attacked him?” Ellenor tried to get the girls to tell her more. 

 

Bea shouted as she Popped into the already very crowded bathroom, “Why are you talking about him?” Swirling around in the air, she landed to sit perched up on the back of the toilet where Ellenor sat. “He doesn't deserve a single thought from you.” The lamb girl wrapped her arms around Ellenor for affection. “Either of you, that is.” The eye perked up at the inclusive comment. Ellenor laughed, humoring the girl, wrapping her back up. “Come on, Ellenor, we should go for a walk.”

 

“Alright, alright, I'm coming.” Ellenor waved her off. “I have to let Candy finish first.” 

 

Candy whined, “You two should stay with us! There's plenty of room.” When she looked up to the two, Ellenor couldn't help but laugh, seeing how excited Candy was while July was sulking. 

 

“You aren't going to go out and hang out with Lolias?” Bea cocked her head. “I heard he’s sleeping outside.”

 

July and Candy both glanced at each other at the same time. “No,” Candy answered. “Not tonight. He needs some space… I normally wouldn’t leave someone alone like that, but July said it was for the best.”

 

Ellenor got up in order to check herself out in the mirror. She turned to look at the profile view of her hair cut. It looked way better evened out. 

 

“Bea and I are going to go out, that is as long as you’re done,” Ellenor smiled at the two girls, one brooding, one pouting. “But you two have a good time.” 

 

Ellenor walked through the wooden slatted room to head for the door with Bea floating at her side. The baby blue sheets enticed her to rest, but she wanted to exercise more first. Her legs were recovering just fine, with a slight limp, she had no worries that she wouldn’t get back to normal in maybe a weeks time. However, she ignored the pain in her side that made her want to cough. She was certain that it was nothing and just her being paranoid after everything that had happened.

 

“I never thought I’d be in Sweden, you know?” Bea asked with a smile on her face. She floated with her face pointed up towards the starry sky. The way she looked to be laying was so relaxing, but Ellenor knew that it took a lot of energy out of her to keep floating and Popping at the rate she was.

 

“Yeah,” Ellenor agreed. She glanced up at the sky to gaze at the constellations she never bothered to appreciate. Would the same stars be seen in her hometown?

 

“What do you say we go out to the water again?” Bea suggested. Ellenor glanced down at her outfit before nodding in affirmation. She still wore one of the felt-cotton t-shirts from the hospital, but had acquired a pair of polyester shorts July luckily had an extra set of.

 

The water was barely even rippling when they got out there. It was silent aside from their footsteps moving the rocks under their feet. Ellenor discarded her shirt with Bea’s leggings and tank top on an oversized boulder on the edge of the beach. 

 

While Bea Popped as high as she could and jumped into the water from the height, Ellenor walked in slowly, tenderly brushing the water with her hands in front of her. She closed her eyes as she let herself become completely immersed. Letting herself float, Ellenor held her face above the water, releasing all the air she had. It wasn’t long until she was going under. While her vision blurred with the water, the eye allowed her to see the night sky in a different way. There were more stars than she had ever seen. Each of them held their own colors in the darkened night. Flowing white stained the sky, making the undertones of blue and purple stand out more. 

 

Ellenor gasped when she resurfaced, having not realized how long she was under. She shook her head. It was only fair that she wanted to give the eye some control over their body, but it was still new to this. She reminded it that they had to breathe inside their shared head. The laughter in her head was overlooked as Ellenor took notice of how silent her surroundings were. 

 

Ellenor called out, “Bea?” She scanned the water all around her to find the young girl. It was unsettling that she wasn’t splashing around, causing the water to ripple about. Relief flooded over her when she saw the hairball laying on the rocky beach. As fast as she could, she swam in to shallow end to only run to Bea. “You alright?”

 

Bea laid on the ground, taking labored breaths in and out. “I’m alright…” She lifted a hand up only to flop down onto the rocks. “Just too much floating.” The lamb girl looked as though she was going to fall asleep on the rough riverside.

 

Looking from the campsite back to Bea, Ellenor had already made her decision. She leaned down to the ground before patting her back. “Come on,” Ellenor smiled. “I’ll carry you.”

 

Bea laughed. “You’re too frail to do that, just give me a minute.”

 

“Nope!” Ellenor grabbed her wrist. “Let’s go.”

 

Bea shook her head. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

 

It wasn’t long before Ellenor was taking deep breaths from the exercise. Her feet slammed down onto the ground as the extra weight made extra force. She focused on her steps rather than the gathering sweat or the beating heart.

 

“Hey, Ellenor?” Bea said nearly into Ellenor’s ear with her fluffy head resting on the older woman’s shoulder. “Can I ask you something?”

 

“Of course.” Ellenor was all for conversation to distract her, but she was still worried about the somberness in Bea’s tone.

 

“If Jenn hadn’t found me…” Bea’s grip got tighter. “Would I have been drafted just like everyone else?”

 

Ellenor’s heart skipped a beat. That chance hadn’t occurred to her at all. Bea was very young, but a super normally didn’t have much identification in the war. Did they care about age? Or did they care about winning?

 

“I don’t know…” Ellenor kept her eyes down. “My head tells me no, but my gut tells me yes. I think they wouldn’t have, but I feel they would.”

 

Bea buried her face into Ellenor’s shoulder. “I’m scared.”

 

“Me too…” Ellenor shut her eyes.

 

“I don’t want to die.”

 

Their piggy back ride was cut short by Frieda running out towards them, Eryk on her tail.

 

“What's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?” Frieda gave the run down of questions every time something was slightly out of the normal.

 

“We're alright, Bea's just too tired,” Ellenor explained, her voice sounding as passive as it could. 

 

“Let me take her from you,” Eryk offered, stepping to walk behind Ellenor. The position he held her in was much harder to pull off, arms behind the knees and back, but he seemed to not struggle with it. Bea rested her head on his chest, her eyes already fluttering shut. Ellenor wished her a good night's rest, but the girl was already dozing off on Eryk.

 

Frieda went to slip her hand into Ellenor's, but quickly retracted upon feeling how sweaty she was. “You need to take a shower,” Frieda commented, before she smiled. “We should take a shower.”

 

Ellenor frowned heavily at her. “I can shower all by myself, I could a week ago and--” Ellenor shut her mouth when she saw Frieda's grin and quirked eyebrow. She quickly realized the implications of taking a shower with her wife. “Oh.” Ellenor smiled back. “Yeah, I'd like that.”

 

Together, they continued back to the red cabins, heading to the one designated for them, Candy, July, Bea, and Camelia. Just before reaching the door, Ellenor stumbled, grabbing on to Frieda for support.

 

Frieda wore a gentle smile when she looked up at her. “It's alright, I've got you.” Ellenor leaned on her more, taken over by the thought of being held. She pushed Frieda back so she would walk to the door. The shorter woman actually giggled. “What's gotten into you?” She only laughed more when Ellenor's lips grazed her neck.

 

“You.” Frieda's laugh was rough, just as her voice always was, but it was soothing beyond belief.

 

“You've never flirted a day in your life,” Frieda held her shoulders. “You're going to start now?”

 

Licking her lips, Ellenor chuckled. “I won you over before, didn't I?” She pressed her body up against Frieda's.

 

“Come on,” Frieda patted her. “Let's get inside first.”

 

It was a dance through the rooms to get to the bathroom where Ellenor had just cut her hair. They stumbled together while walking as they giggled at each other.

 

The shower was a small nook in the bathroom, but it was big enough when the two of them stood, wrapped in each other.

 

“Sometimes I forget I'm allowed to relax,” Ellenor admitted. Her mood had cooled down as she let the water spray over her face and run down her neck. “I hated being general.”

 

Frieda hugged her closer. “Me too.”

 

Ellenor placed her head down on Frieda's. “Everyone looked up to me for something I wasn't. I want to be a leader, a good leader, but it was so fake.” Ellenor swallowed. “I was so fake.”

 

Frieda shook her head. “But don't you see?” She pulled back to look at her betrothed. “Now we're here, as far as we can get from the war. We can finally be who we want.” Frieda was smiling ear to ear, but she hated the look on sorrow in Ellenor's eyes.

 

As her third eye opened, Ellenor reached to hold Frieda's face in her hands. “Everyone but you, my love.”

 

Frieda's face went sour. “What?”

 

Ellenor looked down, but she knew the eye kept staring. “All you do is worry about me. Focus on me…” The eye played back images to her, all so surrounded with her sacrifices all for Ellenor. She shut her eyes tight to force the pain away. “From now on, you need to live. Don't worry about me anymore.”

 

“But--” Frieda stumbled on her words. “You just, and we--” Her eyes were frantic searching for reason.

 

“You know it's true,” Ellenor stopped her. She leaned in close, holding her married in another embrace. “We matter, but so does everyone else, so do you.”

 

Frieda bit her lip, holding herself back before ultimately nodding. 

 

“Thank you.”


	177. Carnival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A visit to the carnival

After cleaning up the massive breakfast table, Frieda noticed that the owners didn't disappear into the main building like they normally did. They spoke in a small circle for a while before walking out. Frieda glanced to Eryk, to get him to follow her, as she watched the family of humans load up into a car.

 

“Hey!” Frieda jogged out to them. “What are you doing?” She hoped she didn't sound crazy.

 

Eve's eyes lit up like the night sky. “The Carnival is in town!” She looked off like she was daydreaming. “They only come at the beginning of summer. We can't miss it.”

 

“A Carnival?” Bea Popped so she was right up against the car. “I didn't know they still did those!”

 

“Car knee ville?” Havi frowned. “What's that?”

 

“You don't know?” Eve sounded appalled. “You have to come see it!” 

 

“Oh, I don't know…” Frieda glanced down at Havi, but her eye was caught when she saw that all the supers had gathered around the car.

 

“Come on, Frieda,” Ellenor stepped forward from the crowd, placing her hand on her shoulder. “We all deserve a little break, don't you think?”

 

Frieda cringed. “I'm sorry,” She shook her head. “We'll be recognized.”

 

“Not all of us!” Havi fought back.

 

Frieda raised an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah!” Jackie agreed. “Vivica knows!”

 

“What?” Eryk squinted.

 

“Vivica,” Jackie said it like it was obvious. “She's been using people's phones to check the news?”

 

Both Eryk and Frieda turned to stare at Vivica and Jerricho, holding hands. Jerricho hid her face, embarrassed.

 

“Alright,” Frieda slouched. “We can go, but no familiar faces, understood?” The kids shouted in triumph. 

 

“Well, who's been in the news?” Eryk asked. He seemed genuinely curious.

 

Jerricho took a deep breath. “Well, obviously, Ellenor and Frieda, then Eryk, Isamu, and Lolias, Tadaaki and…” She looked to the ground. “Bea.”

 

“Wow,” Candy scoffed. “That’s way less than I thought there would be.” July grunted, jabbing a elbow into Candy's side immediately.

 

Frieda bowed her head. “Very well,” She smiled. “You can all go, except for those.”

 

Cars were easily loaded up. Very few stayed back by choice. It was only natural. 

 

Frieda sat with Eryk in the office for a while, with her head planted on her fist. She couldn't lie, she would have liked to leave with the others, but she knew better. Telling herself she'd enjoy the quiet, she sat silently in the air conditioned room with Eryk while Bea and Ellenor made a trip out to the lakefront. She soon realized she hated the peace and quiet and longed for white noise.

 

Just as she was about to exit, Isamu came to the door. He jumped when they nearly collided, but relaxed when it was her. The man still had massive bruises around his broken nose, making him look incredibly drained.

 

“What are the odds?” Isamu asked with a giant smile. He looked absolutely relieved. “The odds.” He moved past Frieda to the narrow vending machine, grabbing two Solos before heading back out.

 

She bit her lip, hating how Eryk never spoke. He always had an agenda, but said nothing on his mind. “I'm gonna go,” Frieda gestured. “Be with my wife, you know?” Eryk only nodded. She hurried out before it could get more awkward.

 

The silence swarmed the air, making Frieda uneasy. It was either crying of the wounded, or laughing of the supers. She knew she preferred the latter, but wouldn't mind either. 

 

As Frieda trudged towards the beach, she realized just how far it was. She hadn't thought about the distances Ellenor was walking, simply expected her to know her limits. Every step she took was another Ellenor had taken several times already. Frieda should have known the stubborn woman would push her body to do whatever she wanted. She was Ellenor. Just as she stepped foot on the beach, she decided that she would scold her lover again. Hopefully, the teasing would lead to as hedonistic things as it did last night.

 

But when Frieda scanned the beach for Ellenor, she saw nothing and no one. She held her breath, standing silently, waiting to hear some sort of sounds. While her heart pounded in her chest with teeming fear, her mind quickly turned on her, reminded of the exact things she had just thought. Ellenor was Ellenor. She would push herself to no end. With Bea at her side, Frieda had no doubt that she would already be there. Always, Ellenor would choose the hard way just to push herself a little further than anyone else. Even before she was a general in the Provencal army, she forced herself to do the impossible, and still wasn’t satisfied. 

 

She could have been worried and thought about Ellenor's safety, but the woman knew exactly what she was doing. 

 

“Ellenor left,” Frieda snarled to Eryk. “She's going to be seen.” Eryk stood up in alarm, widening his eyes. “She always does this! And right after she told me to…” Frieda looked down to the ground, angrily searching for answers.

 

Eryk stood, slowly approaching Frieda. “It’s okay,” He placed his hand on the woman’s shoulder. She hated how small his hands made her feel. “I’m sure Ellenor knows what she’s doing. If anything bad were to happen to her, she would know.”

 

“How do you know that?” Frieda shouted at him. As she grunted away from him, she smacked his hand off of her. “You don’t know anything! Nothing is guaranteed!” Storming out of the office, Frieda left Eryk standing without any resolution.

 

While Frieda’s rage overtook her, Ellenor’s emotions made her feel a rush she long had forgotten. As Bea rode on her shoulders, pointing to every new thing she wanted Ellenor to see, she looked around at huge crowds of people, tiny amusements, and all of the like. It was terrifying, the chance of her being recognized, but it was all she had been wanting. To see people, to be around people, she could barely believe how she missed it so. Smells, sights, and sounds overtook the vision within Ellenor’s head. Nothing seemed to matter when all around her was the essence of shared joy. 

 

One particular ride that Bea pointed out had a massive line leading up to it. The amusement ride seemed to be shaped like a barrel. Ellenor squinted at it trying to understand the appeal of it. However, when she looked at the line, she saw its appeal to Bea. July, Candy, Sachi, and Pete waved to them, coercing them to join them in line.

 

“Let’s go!” Bea pointed towards them. 

 

Ellenor chuckled as she reached up and grabbed Bea to set her down on the ground. “I can’t go with you on the ride,” Ellenor struggled to gage her reaction with a surgical mask hiding her mouth and her curly bangs hiding her eyebrows. “But you should have fun.”

 

The girl sniffled at Ellenor. “Come on… It’ll be fun.”

 

“I want to explore some more,” She looked around the crowd. “I feel like there’s something I need to find.”

 

Bea sighed, “Alright.” She caved in. “But don’t get hurt, okay?” 

 

Ellenor scoffed. “Don’t worry about me. Luck is on my side.”

 

After she lifted Bea up onto July’s shoulders and said her goodbyes, she left the five of them in line to the large barrel ride. She waited for after a while of walking to finally pop her back. It was killing her from carrying Bea, but she knew she had to in order to keep Bea’s identity safe, she would have to hide in plain sight.

 

A ferris wheel, carousel, and tilt-a-whirl all intrigued Ellenor. Not to mention the food stands everywhere that had all sorts of salty and sugary treats. Ellenor would explore the separate attractions, but something inside her called out to keep searching. Months before then, she would have blamed her gut. In that moment, she knew it had something to do with the third eye. Only, the eye was keeping silent. She didn’t know what she was looking for. It was her power of intuition that she completely relied on.

 

She walked around a corner, standing behind a large truck that sat off as a man handed out cones of flavored ice. Leaning up against it, she wiped sweat off of her face. The hat she wore was only making the heat worse. She traveled without a destination and it drove her insane. 

 

With no clue if she had been going the right direction, if she was in the right place, or if she was doing the right thing, she whispered out loud, her speech directed towards the eye. “Just tell me what I need to do, please. Why are we here? What do I do?”

 

Just then she heard loud speaking, near yelling, in a language she couldn’t understand. It wasn’t distant, but it was quiet in comparison to the loudness of bustling excitement that the carnival caused. She wandered slowly, heading towards the sound of the voice.

 

Behind every ride, seemingly hidden away, was a large tent made of canvas. It was reminiscent of the tents she had to sleep in when serving the Provencal army, it was only that this tent was colored with various stripes. Yellow and purple gave the canvas a personality that Ellenor could have never imagined. She couldn’t help her curiosity that had finally peaked. She moved the cloth apart from itself, entering with the greatest posture she could muster.

 

Within, straw covered the hard ground, circling all the way around the small space. It was underneath the chairs that were assembled all over the room in an organized fashion. The chairs were set up to face a stage. Curtains were closed over the wooden platform that was made to perform.

 

As Ellenor walked down the aisle between the chairs towards the stage, she could hear that the shouting was getting closer. She bit her lip, worried that whoever was behind the red drapery would question her. The anxiety bubbling inside her was overpowered by the pull she felt to the stage. It was when she was close enough to the stage that she saw what she was truly attracted towards.

 

A massive black top hat sat upon the stage. The light that shined on the hat only enticed her more. She reached her hand out to it. “Is this it?” She tried to ask the eye again, but once again it wouldn’t speak to her. “What is this?” Ellenor tried. “What does it mean?”

 

She took the hat in her hands holding it out in front of her, staring at it to search for reasons. Releasing a breath, she removed the ballcap that was to hide her being a super. Her hair fell into her eyes as she looked to the shining hat. Gently, she placed it upon her head, pulling it down to once again cover her eye.

 

The instant she took her hands away, images flashed all around her. She saw thousands and thousands of people cheering, lions jumping through hoops, Bea twirling high in the air, Candy making snacks, Frieda warping a glass ball, Camelia dancing with men made of shadows, and herself, standing with her arms out, taking the deepest bow she could manage, as hundreds of thousands clapping all for her.

 

She gasped, snatching the hat off of her head. “What?”

 

“Hey!” Ellenor whipped around to see a giant man storming towards her, a much sleeker woman right behind him. “Who the hell are you?” 

 

The eye stared at him as it showed Ellenor visions of him beating lions that sat in tiny cages surrounded by filth. The instant he was close enough to her, she grabbed his wrist and slammed him to the ground.

 

“Where are they?” She screamed in his face. He thrashed, obviously dazed. “The lions! Where are they?”


	178. Charge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danger this, danger that.

Frieda waited in the lobby as she heard all the car doors slamming, indicating that the other supers had returned from their day of activities. Next to her, Isamu was yawning, making the bandaging on his face crinkle at the already loosened adhesive. He had joined her and Eryk in the office a few hours ago, to ensure that Kieren didn’t raise any eyebrows. On her other side, Eryk stood with his arms crossed. She couldn’t help but flare her nostrils everytime she looked at him since all he did was project someone else’s emotions onto himself.

 

First to enter the office building was Candy and July. Candy enthusiastically offered to buy a Solo from the vending machine, to which July only bickered back about some contest. Next came in Sachi, dragging a half-asleep Tadaaki with him. The feminine man bound up to Isamu, hugging him. Sachi went on and on about how it was good to have some quiet after a busy day. Last to visit the office was Kieren. He said no words as he stood simply at the door staring at Isamu. They said nothing to each other as they left without question.

 

Gripping her fists tight, Frieda waited and waited and waited. She stared at the door, forcing herself to not grit her teeth. Every moment that past she expected Ellenor was another step closer to coming in. Only, she didn’t. It got to a point where Frieda had no clue if she was coming anymore.

 

She stood up, grunting angrily, before going out the door to slam it behind her. Outside, supers were heading off to their designated cabins. Sachi was with Tadaaki, Pete, Havi, and Gabe, Vivica with Jerricho, Jackie, Flower, and Patch, and Kieren alone with Isamu, par his request. Frieda charged towards her own cabin, throwing the door open, ready to let out a storm.

 

When the door opened, one girl jumped up, dropping a bag to the floor. Frieda squinted in the low lighting to see Camelia pick up a bag of jellybeans. She didn’t have to glance around to know that the girl was the only on in the cabin. She huffed away again, slamming the door behind her.

 

After the entire day, Ellenor was still out and about? Frieda couldn’t imagine what she would have to go through if she overworked her legs, causing her recovery to only backtrack. Her wife was being so reckless and with her own body.

 

Every day that they had spent at the small campsite in Mora, Sweden, Ellenor had visited the rocky beach with Bea as her escort. Neither of them took their conditions seriously. While Frieda was sure Bea hadn’t been beaten by the Marshal, she still knew that Bea should have been taking it easier. 

 

As she trudged through the grass, the sound of talking, followed by laughing, became more and more apparent. Frieda shook her head in disdain. Not only did Ellenor know that she should have talked to her, but all of the other supers she was with would have known too. 

 

When Frieda cleared the foliage she could finally make out the conversation among them. They were mostly talking about their eventful days. Frieda could tell that the conversation was mostly directed towards Lolias as he did most of the replying to the various voices. 

 

Frieda made her presence known by clearing her throat. July and Candy turned around to look at her. The two’s parting allowed for Frieda to look into the small circle they had formed, only to see Ellenor surrounded by lions, who rested lazily at her sides.

 

“What?” Frieda couldn’t help but shout. “Is that?” She pointed a finger out to a massive lion with a mane that rubbed against Ellenor. 

 

“This is Geo,” Ellenor informed as she reached to stretch the lion’s chin. “And this is Malzya.” She reached over to pet the other lion as well. 

 

“This is unacceptable!” Frieda was outraged. “We are already vulnerable with as many people we have!”

 

“Of course!” Bea Popped in front of Frieda before snarling at her. She made sure to stay right in between Ellenor and Frieda. “We go out, have the greatest day of our lives, and then you have to come and ruin it! Well, I’ve had it!” Bea planted her hands on her hips.

 

“It was dangerous and you know it!” Frieda claimed right back.

 

“That’s what you always say!” Bea rolled her body with her eyes. “Danger this, danger that, whatever! If anything would have gone wrong, Ellenor would have been there to stop it or warn us at least.”

 

“She could have been recognized!” Frieda snapped at her.

 

“But the majority of us were out there,” Bea glared at into Frieda’s eyes. “We needed protection and that’s what Ellenor provides, what the eye provides.”

 

“It would have been safer if you hadn’t gone in the first place!” Frieda moved to go around Bea. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you go in at all.”

 

Bea grabbed her shoulder. “It’s not your call!” Frieda sent daggers at Bea with a look, but the younger girl was unfazed. “You act like you do everything to keep us safe, like you’re protecting the group, but you’re not!” Bea shoved her by the shoulders. “You said so yourself, you don’t know what’s right for us, but you know who does? You know who always protects us?” Bea swung her arm out towards Frieda’s wife. “Ellenor does! The eye does! They always know what’s best for us! And you have sent them away from the group multiple times!”

 

“I did that to protect her!” Frieda upturned her nose, but her confidence was waning.

 

“Yeah, you did,” July pointed a finger at Frieda as she came into the comotion. “But what about the rest of us? We were bombarded by Mavis, Kieren, the police, and  _ your _ family. If Ellenor had been there, none of that would have happened!” July’s height so close to her own made Frieda want to curl into herself.

 

“No one was hurt today,” Bea shook her head. “You’re not the one who should be upset. Your tried to stop us from having a good time. And we did, and we don’t need your permission. I wouldn’t have gone, I would have stayed with Ellenor, but when she said we’d be fine, I believed her. I don’t believe you when you say we’re in danger.”

 

“Now you’re calling me untrustworthy?” Frieda gawked at the sheer audacity inside the floating girl.

 

“No, I’m calling you overbearing!” Bea groaned. “You’re not the one who tells me what to do, okay? No one does! And you can’t tell Ellenor what to do either. She, they make their own decisions. And I’d side with them any day over you. I’m certain that anyone would agree with me.”

 

“That’s enough!” Lolias’s voice boomed, overpowering all of the bickering. “You, Bea,” Lolias pointed at the girl. “Are arguing for Ellenor, who hasn’t said a word. And you,” Lolias looked to Frieda. “Are letting all your emotions out on a little girl.”

 

“I’m not a girl!” Bea snarled as her voice broke. 

 

“Ellenor,” Lolias sighed. “Can you please rein them in?” The cuban man slouched his shoulders. “I’m too tired for this.”

 

They all turned to look at Ellenor, who was actively trying to keep the lions tamed from the shouting. “I’ve almost died three times, probably more,” Ellenor looked down at her hands that were almost hidden in the lion’s fur. “I feel as though all I’ve ever done is live and act as a general. Now, I want something more. I need to live my life, and this is how I want to do it.” Ellenor stood. “I saved these abused animals today, I limped around a festival, I ate an elephant ear and I liked it.” Ellenor’s eyes begged to Frieda. “I can finally be who I am and I want to be the leader of these supers.”

 

Frieda teeth threatened to crack as her palms screamed to bleed. Only the stars that glistened in Ellenor’s gaze spoke of the uncertainty they all shared. Frieda lowered her head, shaking it slightly, before laughing. She charged forward, wrapping herself around Ellenor. She nodded against her chest. “Okay…” She said weakly, even though she wanted to cry.

 

“Good,” Ellenor smiled. She took Frieda in one arm to allow the smaller woman to hide herself in Ellenor as she turned out to address the group. “I have visions of everyone everyday, and I’d like to sit down and have a one on one with every single super we have. I feel as though I barely know any of you, and I think it’s high time for that to change. I want to be ready if anyone is in danger, I have to know them.” Frieda hugged Ellenor tighter, scared to allow certain supers she wasn’t sure about be alone with her beloved. 

 

“Start with me!” Candy flipped her hair. “I’m practically an open book.” 

 

“A one page book,” July sneered.

 

“It will have to wait,” Ellenor moved away from Frieda. “We’ve got company.”  Shutting her two original eyes, Ellenor scanned through the images that rushed her mind. “They’ll attack Sachi and Pete’s cabin first.” She opened her eyes to instruct the supers around her. “Bea, go tell them to vacate, Lolias, get in your trailer, Frieda, get Eryk, Tadaaki, Kieren, and Isamu and meet me at the cabin.”

 

Frieda stood for a moment, biting her lip down to keep from interjection. She wanted to stay with Ellenor, they could get them all together, but Frieda shook her head out of those thoughts.

 

Bea Popped until she reached the cabin. She told them that Ellenor had just had a vision and that they needed to hide. Pete decided to carry Havi and Gabe out of the small building, running to join Lolias in the back of the truck. The other occupants, besides Tadaaki, joined him. Sachi cried as Tadaaki hugged him and reassured he’d be fine.

 

With the lions galloping behind her, Ellenor ran towards the truck she had stolen just earlier that day to save the lions. She closed her eyes, placing her forehead against each of theirs before locking them inside. She hated that she had to, but it was only to keep them safe from anyone that might come.

 

After telling Frieda they were right behind her, Kieren gave Isamu a huge sloppy kiss. Smiling when he parted from Isamu, he looked down at him to not see his expression reciprocated. Kieren licked his lips before spatting in Isamu’s face. He forced the bigger man up off the bed and dragged him to follow the electrokinetic.

 

Inside the office, Eryk told the humans to remain calm and stay inside. As long as they feigned innocence, nothing would happen to them. Adrien said that they wouldn’t have any trouble. While they were there, Frieda apologized for what was going to happen to their cabin when they were done with it.

 

Together, Frieda and Eryk ran inside the cabin where the other called upon supers were taking a stance. Once the door was shut, Tadaaki took a step out in front of them all. Plants grew up and out from the floorboards to cover the front side of the small building. He compacted the vines thicker against the door and windows.

 

Ellenor told them the positions they needed to be in to be the most successful, with the eye blinking furiously. She frowned when she went to tell Isamu where to be. Shaking her head, she told him to remain in the back. It would be another conversation for another day to talk about how Isamu was a blur in her visions.

 

“And finally,” Ellenor patted Tadaaki’s shoulder. “I’ll be giving you all directions.” She pointed to the door. “That’s twelve o’clock,” She spun, “Three, and so on.” Closing her eyes, she looked for herself in her visions. “However, I cannot be seen today. I need you to hide me.”

 

She took shelter underneath one of the beds. Tadaaki took more of the plants to drape over each of the beds, making indistinguishable canopies. Sitting in the darkness, the eye showed her more and more images. It showed Kieren burning people alive. It hurt her insides, made her stomach turn. But the eye told her, with them dead, they would be harder to follow. They wouldn’t be found for months.

 

Ellenor’s brow quivered. “Don’t kill anyone!” She called out. “It will only end worse.”

 

The eye chuckled, “Somethings never change.”

 

The wooden cabin settled to become silent except for the slight creaking caused by the purely wooden structure. Ellenor shut her eyes, keeping from shouting directions, until the door slammed open. It sounded as though it broke out of its frame and hit the side of the wall.

 

Footsteps of massive boots walked in with a formality that was sickening to Ellenor’s memory. Tadaaki emerged from behind a cage of his own vines. In an instant, every light was pointed at him. He kept his hands up by his head to feign compliance. 

 

“Take care of him,” One of them commanded another. Tadaaki closed his eyes, simply waiting for himself to be shocked by the taser gun. It was not a feeling he enjoyed. Luckily Frieda slid in front of him, with the power of Eryk helping her. She was shocked immediately by the tendrils of power. She could already feel the energy festering inside her. Launching herself forward, Frieda grabbed two of the flash lights pointed at her. They shattered, causing the light to weaken, only provided by four more lights. Frieda ducked away as the men started to shout in confusion. A smirk found a way to her face when the door slammed shut. Kicking at the feet that were covered in the behemoth shoes. Once one of them was knocked to the floor, she climbed on top of them, grabbing his light, and shattering it. They shot her with the taser, directly into the ribs. She went to shock him back, but a shout startled her.

 

“Frieda! Five o’clock!” Ellenor shouted. Just as Frieda turned to look, a baton slammed into her temple. Her vision became confused by stars and darkness.

 

Kieren lunged forward, sending blazing flames around each uniformed person. He held his hand out as fire curled out of his palm to cover each of the taser guns. The instant he had touched each of them, he clamped his fingers into a fist, turning his flames into a solid blade. Once he took the handle in both his hands, he raised his hands up and forced the blazing blade down, successfully slicing off the business end of the gun, rendering them useless. With a grin, he dropped the blade, turning it to nothing, as he licked his teeth in pride. 

 

Together, Tadaaki, Isamu, and Eryk all worked together in order to empty the beds. Once they were completely finished, Isamu started in on combat in order to trap the various opposing people against the beds. Throwing punches and dodging blows, Isamu fought the tallest man in the group. He made nasty remarks at him. It didn’t hurt when he was called ‘freak’ for the one-hundred-thousandth time in his life. Isamu simply ignored the man until he pushed him onto the bed, where Tadaaki bound him in the vines and limbs at his will. Eryk pushed at others, forcing one other to be stuck on the same bed.

 

Frieda blinked dazedly. She tried to focus her eyes into the dark room she was in. Grunts and shouts were all she understood. Shaking her head, she came to quickly as she remembered what she was doing. She grabbed onto the bed she leaned against to stand up. She got a slight static shock from the metal bar that was the frame of the bed. Without a second thought, she rips the leg off of the bed, sending electricity through it. The charge wound around the rod, moving through the rod, and curling back towards her. It was fast enough that only she knew it was happening.

 

Charging back into the action, Frieda swung the rod about, slamming into the first officer she could reach. He was down in an instant. Only, the one behind him used a baton to block the blows that Frieda took at him. She snarled as she swung directly for his head. His neck jerked away as his helmet flew off of his face. Jabbing the rod into his neck, she shocked him only for a few seconds to release him, allowing him to fall to the floor.

 

Breathing heavily, Frieda looked up to see Kieren staring at her in awe.

 

“You’re so powerful…” Kieren commented. Frieda turned away so she could roll her eyes. 

 

Isamu wiped sweat from his forehead while he looked down at their foes pinned to the beds.

 

“That didn’t go how I thought it would,” Ellenor walked up behind them. “But it still worked.”

 

“It doesn’t matter,” Tadaaki shook his head. “We need to check on everyone else and get out of here.” He gestured around the room, whipping all of the extra vegetation back out of the cabin, leaving only what pinned the officers. Slouching forward, Tadaaki covered his face. “This is way too hard when the sun isn’t out.”

 

Isamu chuckled. “Lee could never wrap his head around that.”

 

Tadaaki let out a half scoff half laugh. “There’s a lot of things he couldn’t wrap his head around.”

 

“I hate to leave these guys here,” Ellenor shook her head. “They’ll only cause trouble for the Holms.”

 

“We’ve already warned them about who we are,” Eryk told her. “They know what they’re doing.”

 

“But…” Frieda hugged herself. “Where will we go now?”

 

Ellenor took Frieda into her arms. “We can’t stay here, we just need to go, and we need to go now.”

 

There was much disappointment shared between the supers and the humans they had met. It was agreed that the cabins were one of their favorite places to stay. 

 

Ellenor closed her eyes as she sat in the passenger seat waiting for Frieda. She watched her visions over and over. Thousands clapping, costumes glittering, flowers being thrown. She opened her eyes. She saw herself whipping off her hat to take the deepest bow. 


	179. Just

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How many close calls is enough?

“And we are just so powerful, and yet we stay to the shadows,” Pete went on his fifth rant in the week about supers. “Out of all the supers out there, we’re the most powerful, not because of our capabilities, but because of the way we’re able to work together as a team.” He grabbed his chest as he looked off into a nonexistent distance. “If only we could pass it on to every super out there.”

 

“Okay,” Bea grimaced. “That may be true, but we don’t work together. Yesterday, it was only four of us fighting off the police, and before that it was only three.” Bea shook her head. “Just because you take in what you see as success doesn’t mean it is.”

 

“We’re still being chased,” July swirled her drink with the straw that popped out of the top. “No matter how many times we think we’re okay, they will still be looking for us.”

 

The red plastic picnic table wasn’t much. Not clean, not comfortable, not reliable, but together, Bea, July, Pete, Candy, and Camelia all sat together outside the first fast food place they had seen in months. The large umbrella that was protecting other tables was broken at the one they had chose, properly hiding them from the cars running through the drive-up window. A few other supers were scattered about the small establishment, but not many of them stayed in groups like they did.

 

“This group is flawed,” July shoved the straw into her mouth, stopping herself from criticizing anymore than she already had. 

 

“Lighten up you guys,” Candy’s hair shifted as her body moved with an eye roll. “We aren't arrested, we aren't in the war, I think we're pretty well off.”

 

“Hopefully even more so since Frieda is stepping aside,” Bea gestured towards the table across the way where Ellenor sat with Frieda. 

 

“I can't believe she actually is,” July scoffed. “I tried to get her to see she was wrong and I swear she got worse.” She shifted uncomfortably while she remembered when she had tried to help Lolias run away and when she tried to help find Bea and Ellenor, only to be showed up by Sachi. July glanced back towards him. He stood next to the second truck that they used for their transportation. She was surprised to see that he was crying, but quietly into Tadaaki’s shoulder. It was disheartening since he always seemed to wail when he was upset. Her shoulders slumped when she saw Tadaaki wrap his arms around Sachi to comfort him. Turning around quickly, July stopped her staring. Tadaaki hugged Sachi more than she ever had. Is that why he distanced himself from her? Was she not physical enough? She knew he needed comfort, but that much? Tadaaki must have been a much better friend to him than she ever could be.

 

“Well,” Bea sighed. “I can’t blame her entirely. After Kieren and Mavis, what was she supposed to do?”

 

“She’s the reason Jenn is dead!” July stood. “Am I the only one who sees that?”

 

“Don’t overreact,” Candy grabbed July’s arm, pulling her back into her seat. Candy glanced around to make sure no humans were looking at them. “Kieren is still here and he’s actually killed people.”

 

“I just don’t think she should be bossing us around after all the stupid decisions she’s made,” July huffed as she bowed her head to look down at the table.

 

“She won’t be anymore,” Bea reassured. “Besides, Ellenor was always going to be the one to truly take care of us. The eye told me.”

 

“‘The eye?’” Pete questioned.

 

“Yeah, you know, the big eye on Ellenor’s face?” Bea gestured to her forehead. “It kind of knows everything.”

 

“But it’s Ellenor,” Candy squinted at the girl. “Right?”

 

“No,” July frowned at her hands. “It has tried to speak to me too.” Glancing over to Ellenor, July met eyes with the purple eye on her head. 

 

“It’s sentient?” Camelia sounded appalled. “It’s just an eye.”

 

“We live in a world of supers and a talking eye is where you draw the line?” Bea raised an eyebrow.

 

While she watched, Ellenor stood up frantically. Her two original eyes shut tight as the one above them flashed with color.

 

“We need to leave!” Ellenor called out. All the supers were already moving in towards her for more instructions. “Kieren!” Ellenor’s eyes opened to point directly towards where the boy with raven locks leaned against the tiny building where orders were taken. He turned away from Isamu to glare at Ellenor for a moment. “Look out!” Just as he turned back around a burly man went to grab Isamu. Kieren quickly shoved the older man out of the way in order to be grabbed instead.

 

Eryk jumped up in action, running past the table that seated July. He reached out with loose fingers towards them, clamping his fingers in and Pulling on the two. Kieren struggled with the man holding onto him, but Eryk was able to pull on them since they were one unit. They came flying towards them. The man attacking was obviously surprised, but Kieren only showed anger in his expression. 

 

Once they were close enough, Eryk released his hold on them. While Kieren rolled out of the way, the other man continued toward Eryk. Landing a solid fistright into the man’s face, Eryk bested him with barely using his power. 

 

“Kieren no!” Ellenor shouted just as Kieren formed a large fiery blade in his hands. He moved forward, pointing the sword at the man's chin and stepping onto his chest. 

 

He barely gave Ellenor a side glance as the man started to hyperventilate. Gently, Kieren leaned down towards the man's face. “Sorry,” His teeth shined bright white at him. The man started to scream, begging for the other supers to intervene. “But no one comes between me and my boyfriend.” The blade sunk into his throat. He sputtered and hacked horrifying noises as blood spewed from his mouth along with the awful sounds. “Not anymore.”

 

July cringed away, covering her eyes. She could hear Candy gagging as the smell of iron in the blood reached them. Bea Popped away, meeting sides with Ellenor. Pete stood and backed up from the body and Kieren. 

 

Kieren stood up straight with flared nostrils. He directed his look right at Ellenor with his chin tilted up. He pointed an abnormally boney finger at her. Bea held onto her tighter, in case she needed to Pop them both away.

 

“This is your fault!” Kieren proclaimed. “If we had killed them, they wouldn't be able to find us!” Ellenor simply stood straighter than he could even imagine “You do not even fight! This isn't my battle, it's yours!” Kieren went to stomp over to Isamu, keeping his eyes on Ellenor. “I knew we should have left. We should leave them all.”

 

“No one needs to die!” Ellenor fought back. “It's not right!”

 

“Maybe it's you who needs to die!” Kieren snarled. Isamu held his shoulder, keeping him from doing anything to brash. Her teeth began to hurt with how she gritted them. 

 

Kieren did yield however, when Isamu spoke, “She's far too powerful, we need her on our side.” Kieren seemed to think for a moment before turning around to look back at his boyfriend. Isamu smiled as he pecked Kieren on the cheek. Kieren seemed to nod in agreement as he said no other words. 

 

“This is the same guy,” Eryk noticed. “From inside the cabin.” 

 

“Where are the rest of them?” Candy looked around as if she'd find them.

 

“More importantly, why wasn't this guy armed?” Bea commented on what no one had noticed.

 

Ellenor shut her eyes tight, searching for the others. “It was a distraction.” She shook her head as she saw them conspiring in the past. “Lolias!” Ellenor grabbed Bea's wrist. “The trailer! Now!” As fast as they Popped away, the other sprung into action, running for the trailer.

 

They could hear banging from inside the truck before they even reached it. It shook from whatever was going on inside.

 

Frieda was the first to barge in with Eryk, July, and Tadaaki close behind. Within, they saw Ellenor throwing punches at those attacking Lolias. The large man was trapped in a corner with no way of escape. Running forward, Frieda pounced onto a man closest to Ellenor, she went to electrify him, but the reflective metal on his chest caught her eye.

 

The hesitation gave the man the upper hand, as he threw his fist in an uppercut into Frieda’s jaw. She reared back as quickly as she could until she bumped into Ellenor.

 

“They have Dampeners!” Frieda yelled out.

 

“What?” Lolias sounded enraged.

 

“It stops our powers from working!” Ellenor warned. “Don't let them touch you!”

 

Frieda took a defensive stance as she reached for the bar that hung from her belt loop. She allowed for it to become powered by her ability. 

 

“I'll disarm them as fast as I can,” Frieda told her wife.

 

“Hurry,” Ellenor said back.

 

Frieda moved to swing at the various opponents, aiming for their chests where the Dampeners were pinned. While she made it her priority, she was surprised to see that other supers were joining into the fight.

 

July charged with a styrofoam cup in her hand. She slammed the drink into one of the officer's faces. The brittle material exploded under the force. Almost instantly, July dropped down to the floor and swung her leg out in a wide curve to take the officer's feet out from under him. She worked her way as close to Lolias as she could. She knew something was wrong since he hadn't moved the whole time.

 

“What happened?” July approached. She saw that he was strangely stiff and that his arms hung at his sides unnaturally.

 

“There's a Dampener on him,” Candy's voice rang out. July looked up over Lolias’s legs to see Candy standing at his other side.

 

“I'm as strong as I used to be,” Lolias spoke. “When I was normal, but I'm not strong enough to pick up my own arms.”

 

“Then they tied him up,” Candy pointed. July frowned at the small ropes that connected Lolias's wrists to his thighs. 

 

“This is so embarrassing,” Lolias complained. “I'm so weak.”

 

“It is kind of funny to see someone twenty feet tall so helpless…” Candy snickered.

 

“Now is not the time!” July scolded her. “I'll climb up there and get that off of you, Lolias. Candy, you need to untie him.”

 

Meanwhile, after realizing that he couldn't pull on them, Eryk took to smashing the Dampeners as close to the others as he could. His knuckles started to sting everytime they came in contact with the metal, but he forced himself to go for the third one.

 

Just as he did, Frieda too lunged for the man, using her bar as an extension of her hand. She tightened up, but the bar was already touching the Dampener. She wanted to scream at Eryk but it was too late.

 

Until Isamu shoved him out of the way. Instead, Eryk’s hand was replaced with Isamu's against the Dampener. His pupil shrank in an instant, but he didn't shout like the officer did. His body went rigid as his hand couldn't release the Dampener. Frieda tossed the bar that was truly a bed leg and shoved Isamu away. He fell to the floor, but made no other movements.

 

“Frieda!” Ellenor shouted. Just in time, she whipped around to see the final officer swing for her. She ducked, diving across the plywood floor to reclaim the bar. She turned around and held the bar up in front of her to block as the man brought his hand down onto the bar. Frieda struggled to push up at him. As soon as she went to charge the bar, the man slammed his other hand into her stomach. The wind was knocked out of her as the metal scratched her shirt and skin. She forced and forced and forced the electric current out of her, but nothing happened. She tried to push him away, but feelings of uselessness surged over her. 

 

The feeling was for nothing however when a blazing fire sliced the air in between Frieda and the officer. She moved to run or at least crawl away, but the fire turned to a solid. Frieda sucked in her chest as it was brought too close for comfort. It didn't matter for long, as it was brought up into the officer. Frieda shouted as the man coughed blood directly onto her face. The officer's body fell onto her. Luckily, the bar held his body away from hers. She flung him off as far as she could manage.

 

“You're welcome,” Kieren stood above her, offering a hand out to help her up.

 

“Thanks,” Frieda took his hand and pulled to get herself up.

 

“Let's get out of here…” Ellenor said quietly. “I think that's enough for today.”

 

Ellenor took Frieda's hand from Kieren’s and walked with Frieda on one side and Bea on the other.

 

“Are you okay?” Ellenor asked as quietly as she could manage.

 

“Are you?” Frieda asked right back.

 

“No…” Ellenor’s brow trembled as she shut her eyes. “We weren't ready… I didn't know what was going to happen.” Ellenor sighed hard. “I need to have that sit down with everyone.” She shook her head in disgust. “Before that, you need to get some new clothes.”

 

Frieda looked down to see her sister, Francine’s clothes she had taken from her parents’ farm, now bloodied and torn.


	180. One On One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get to know the people you lead.

Ellenor yawned when Pete left the room, since she had been holding it the entire time she spoke to him. He went on and on about how they should be taking responsibility for all other supers. She was sure he didn't understand that the conversation was so that she could meet everyone. It was supposed to be an unadulterated moment of connection between a leader and those who should trust her. Pete spoke like it was the most formal meeting ever held.

 

She slumped onto the back of her hand on the tabletop. Instead of meeting Pete face to face, the eye filled in the missing pieces for Ellenor by showing her some of the interactions he had with others.

 

“I guess actions speak louder than words,” Ellenor admitted.

 

“Keep that in mind now,” The eye warned her.

 

She lifted her head to see the infamous man with porcelain skin, the sharpest edges, and the longest locks of pure black. Kieren stepped in the room as though he owned it with his chin held high, shoulders square, and head tilted. Ellenor stood up, in order to match his posture. 

 

“Good evening,” Ellenor smiled. “You may take a seat.”

 

Kieren nodded, pulling the chair out, and sitting, legs spread wide, and hands planted on the table. She forced herself to ignore it, even though her mind buzzed to guess if he was doing it on purpose or not.

 

“How are you feeling?” Ellenor asked.

 

Kieren frowned for a moment before smiling brightly. “Pretty good, actually.” He leaned forward onto the table, instead of leaned as far back as he could in his chair. “I like it here quite a bit.”

 

The were crashing the commons in a dormitory. The room she was using for the one-on-one was a practice room, emptied except for two chairs, a table, and a piano. 

 

“Why is that?” Ellenor smiled as she looked at the piano.

 

“It's… unconventional,” Kieren answered. “Something about that makes it much more interesting.”

 

“Interesting?” Ellenor questioned his phrasing.

 

“Well,” Kieren sighed. “Back when I lived with Isamu in Japan, it was normal, but exciting that I couldn't be known about. But then we lived at two farms. It was boring. It was the exact same thing, different place.” 

 

“Who would you consider your friends, Kieren?” Ellenor clasped her hands together in her lap.

 

There was a slight delay in Kieren until he groaned. “No one, I guess.” His eye roll confused Ellenor. “I'll always have Isamu, he's my friend, but that's about it. I like Tadaaki though, Tadaaki is very powerful.”

 

“Powerful is important to you?” Ellenor noticed the common theme.

 

“Yes,” Kieren nodded. “It is.”

 

She squinted at him, but the eye gave her direction. “And who is powerful to you?” 

 

“You are,” Kieren waved his hand at her. “Frieda, Tadaaki, and…” His mouth curled into a toothy grin. “Me.”

 

The eye told her not to question his answer and to move on. “So, tell me about Isamu.”

 

“He's my boyfriend,” Kieren stated the fact as if it was prevalent.

 

“Now,” Ellenor sighed. “I have issues seeing futures with Isamu in them. I know it's due to his power, but I think if I were to focus on you, I'd be able to help Isamu.”

 

“His power?” Kieren raised a brow. The eye suddenly urged her not to explain. “What do you mean?”

 

“You… don't know?” Ellenor frowned. 

 

“I know everything about Isamu,” Kieren slammed his hands down on the table. His posture, once relaxed, was now as rigid as it was when he came in. “You think you know more than I do? You can't even see him in your visions!” He shouted as he stood up from the table. “Isamu's weak! And if you can't use your power on him, you're weak!” Kieren slammed the door as he left.

 

Ellenor released a hard breath.

 

“That went better than I thought it would,” The eye told Ellenor.

 

“What are you talking about? He left!” Ellenor flung her hand out towards the door.

 

“Yeah, but he didn't burn you,” The eye tacked on at the end, “Surprisingly.” 

 

The door opened slowly. Ellenor said whoever was out there was welcome. A head of bright pink hair came in. 

 

“Everything okay?” Candy asked her as she shut the door behind her.

 

“Yeah,” Ellenor rubbed her head. “Kieren is just… difficult.”

 

“You can say that again…” Candy winced. Ellenor wondered what she thought of. “Do you remember me?” Candy asked while sitting at the table. “From that night in the infirmary?” 

 

Ellenor smirked. “Of course I do. You were one of the first.”

 

“I sure was,” Candy smiled. “I was so shy back then. You have no idea how much you intimidated me. Then again, so did July. Eryk was the only one I could relate to, having colored hair and all, but he barely even spoke. I was so surprised when he was something of a leader at the farm.”

 

“I saw you redid your hair,” Ellenor gestured up to her brilliant pink hair. “I think it suits you. Being Candy and all.”

 

Candy's eyes lit up. “That's what they used to say at school. My senior year, when I became a super, everyone called me Candy. Then when I dyed my hair, everyone loved it.”

 

“Were you popular in high school?” Ellenor quirked an eyebrow.

 

“I'd say so. I always messed with people's food in order to make it taste better,” Candy smiled. “I guess they only liked me for my power, but that's okay. It's how I got caught and there's nowhere else I'd rather be.”

 

“You've warmed up to July and Lolias, yes?” Ellenor grinned, happy that they shared a mutual.

 

Candy's face turned red around the edges. “Yes, I love them both very much. They're the closest I've ever been to anyone, like, ever. It means a lot to me to have them. And I know sometimes things can get complicated, but I don't care! She's amazing!”

 

Ellenor's confusion didn't last long, as the eye filled in what Candy was leaving out. Her own face heated up when she saw intimate moments involving Candy.

 

“How about Lolias?” Ellenor moved on. “How do you fair with him?”

 

“He’s great,” Her smile was sweet in reminiscion. “I’m normally pretty sarcastic with him, but sometimes, he opens up about his feelings. Him and July are close, but he just tells July things that happen, you know? But like, with me, he tells me how he feels about things, right?”

 

“Right,” Ellenor had to confirm in order to keep listening.

 

“Like, July doesn't get that Lolias hates being alone. Or that he misses performing. Or that he's never loved like he loves Isamu.” Candy sighed. “If July would just listen to me, she'd understand and we wouldn't have to fight over who's a better friend.”

 

Ellenor's face softened. They were so young. She imagined how it would be if that was how she thought of any of her friends, but she was certain she was never so passionate as a child.

 

“How is Lolias?” The eye and her both wanted to know. Lolias was Ellenor's first liberal friend outside of the Provencal army, he was even able to sway the great general that provided them asylum.

 

“He's…” Candy looked down. “Distant… I don't know what's wrong, neither does July. He just… doesn't want to talk anymore.”

 

“He seemed fine the other night on the beach,” The French woman pursed her lips.

 

“Yes, but he doesn't talk when we're all alone.”

 

Ellenor only saw one solution. She stood, putting on her general's uniform jacket. “Let's go see him.”

 

Candy was the last person she had invited to talk with her that day. Luckily, no one else was waiting to speak with her outside the door. There was snoring loud enough to be heard at the entrance. Others were already asleep, but Ellenor had to know everyone as soon as she could. It was finally time for the one person that she had failed. 

 

“Lolias,” Ellenor spoke his name once they had walked around the dormitory to the back parking lot and entered the purple and white trailer. The younger but much taller man raised his head to reveal the dark circles under his eyes.

 

“Hey, toaster,” Lolias forced a smile. The pain hit Ellenor deep within her chest. The eye barely understood.

 

“It’s your turn, Lolias,” Candy said hushed, yet excitedly. “Ellenor’s sit downs, she wants to have one with you too.”

 

“Really now?” Lolias grinned.

 

“Will you take July and leave us?” Quietly, Ellenor asked for Candy.She gave a quick nod before taking a drowsy July out of the trailer.

 

“Quite the group of friends you have,” Commented Ellenor after closing the trailer door.

 

“Some would say the same for you…” Lolias frowned. “Are you still comfortable wearing that thing?” He pointed towards the jacket draping her shoulders. “It has your name right on it.”

 

“I’m long dead,” Ellenor shook her head. “No one will believe it if I say who I am.” As she smoothed down her collar, Ellenor spoke. “Does it make you uncomfortable?”

 

Letting out a scoff, Lolias laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous.

 

A weighted silence fell between them without subtlety. Ellenor hated her fakeness. Lolias hated his moodiness.

 

“Listen,” The former general was the first to speak. “I talked to Candy and… she told me that you’ve been having issues, you know things you don’t care to talk about.” Lolias once again scoffed, rolling his eyes. “And I know we’ve grown apart, but I still want to be your friend, and I truly care about you. We,” The eye upon her forehead opened. “Care about you.”

 

For a moment, Lolias looked down. His grin and cocky eyebrow made his expression common and normal, but his eyes were drenched in pain. He barely bit his lip before his lips went to completely tremble. “It’s everything,” His voice broke at sharp angles. “First my pedestal is knocked down, then I lose my best friend, then all this drama with Kieren, and finally Isamu… I can’t do anything. I feel so helpless. I’m stronger than I ever could have imagined,” Lolias looked to his clenched fists. “But I’m weak, he makes me so weak. Sometimes, all I can think about is him and my heart flies out of my chest, other times, it sinks into the ground with all the hurting, but the worst is when I feel nothing. I hate this.”

 

“Hey, hey,” Ellenor went up to comfort him at his forearm. “It’s okay.”

 

“I’m so confused, Ellenor…” He covered his face. “Why do I have to feel this way now?”

 

“Maybe… this is what you need,” Ellenor smiled with her suggestion. “I’ve never seen you so vulnerable before.”

 

“Thank Isamu for that,” Lolias said, as he wiped the wetness from his eyelids.

 

“What I mean is…” Ellenor searched for her words. “You’re changing, and that’s good. It’s alright. You’re human.” The older woman sighed as she sat down up against the wall next to Lolias. “Don’t worry for now, okay? I’ll be keeping tabs on Kieren as best I can. It’s harder though, since my power doesn't work on Isamu, but I’ll keep him from getting hurt as best I can.”

 

Ellenor was absolutely drained when she went back inside the dormitory. She refrained from groaning since so many were already asleep. With dexterity, Ellenor weaved through the sleeping bodies on the floor in order to reach a small couch that had been left empty, hopefully for her. The sigh of relief she let out was refreshing as she closed her eyes to rest.

 

“Ellenor,” She heard her own voice in a sing-song tone. She cracked an eye open to see Frieda climbing onto the couch. “You’ve talked to a lot of people today…”

 

She smiled smugly, “That I have.”

 

“You think you got to know everybody?” Frieda’s accentuation of her lips distracted Ellenor from the conversation.

 

“I think so…” Ellenor replied dumbly.

 

“Ready to get to know me?” Frieda spoke in barely a whisper before she planted her lips onto Ellenor’s.


	181. Renew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renewed trust.

Someone like Kieren was easily woken up. He had always had his guard up when he was younger, that would never change, no matter his state of consciousness. So it was simple when Kieren heard the door to the dormitory commons open that he would be wide awake.

 

He opened his eyes for a moment, almost dismissing it, since Ellenor had been in and out a couple of times. Only the footsteps did not match the gait of the former general. Her body did not allow her to walk properly yet, so her pace was defined with a limp.

 

Kieren stood up, quietly making his way around the hall to where the other supers rested on various couches, benches, and the carpeted floor. Of course he and Isamu were quartered somewhere else. It was out of the question. Kieren couldn't help but be proud of himself for that.

 

Idly, Kieren kept his breath held, in order to mask her presence to anyone that might detect it. He moved his feet silently by keeping his weight off of them. The only sound he made was the shifting of his hair at his temples. 

 

Once he turned the corner, he saw that the perpetrator was in fact none of the supers. The hulking stature was nothing like any of the people in the group. Too broad of shoulders and tight refined legs made them obviously not fit in.

 

Kieren pushed himself up against the wall to hide just for a moment. He bit his lip when he envisioned a spy movie where the agents would hide behind corners and signal to each other. If only he could find more supers like him that would follow him. 

 

With a plan in mind, he turned the corner to jump into action. Flaring his hand out in an extravagant gesture to allow fire to spew out towards the brawny man. Only, when the trailing flames went towards him, a strong force jumped in front of him.

 

“Kieren!” Ellenor shouted, as she hopped to protect the man. “Don't!” Kieren's nose curled when she made the attempt. Inside, he almost wished she could actually have the power to stop him.

 

Kieren simply made his path of fire twirl around Ellenor, avoiding her, and curving it into the officer. It was the easiest thing he had done in a long time. When he took the flames in both of his hands, it solidified into his favorite form of a blade.

 

“No!” Ellenor shouted. She reached out and grabbed the blade in her bare hands. Kieren almost snarled at her, but she took the blade and slammed it over her knee, snapping it in half. 

 

By the time the two finished the altercation, Frieda had already gotten up and incapacitated the man with her own power.

 

“I told you,” Ellenor marched up to Kieren's chest. “You can't kill anyone!” 

 

Kieren only stuck his nose up into the air. He felt Isamu's arm wrap around him for comfort. The contact made his anger soften, but did not dwindle. “The only reason anyone is chasing us is because they can go back and tell them everything that happened.” Kieren was held back from stepping closer to Ellenor. “Before you were around, we were unstoppable. You know what?” Kieren feigned being shocked as he turned towards his boyfriend. “I bet they didn't even know I existed before. Wouldn't you say, Isamu?” The older man didn't respond. “I'm untouchable. I was before, and I am now, and you can't stop me.” Kieren smirked when he saw Ellenor's lips trembling. He saw her inner conflict written on each of her eyes. 

 

“You're right,” Ellenor admitted. “I won't deny that you are very powerful. Even the most powerful super here.” The words were music to his ears. “But that doesn't make killing people right!”

 

Kieren upturned his lips, his mood quickly soured. “Then you and I have different versions of 'right.’” Tension grew fast and thick between the two of them. Kieren didn't mind. He had shared enough tense moments that he was beyond used to it. “Aren't you gonna yell for everyone?” He asked with a facetious tone. “‘We have to get out of here?’” His taunt made Ellenor's face go red with anger and his own lips curl into a smile.

 

Frieda took the liberty of calling out the words. Kieren almost laughed at her pitiful attempt to save Ellenor's pride. Isamu wrapped himself around Kieren, causing him to yield in the stand off between him and what he assumed was their leader. She was no leader of his.

 

“We still have to respect her,” Isamu explained as they walked back towards the room they had claimed for themselves. “No matter how we disagree with her.”

 

Kieren twisted his neck to look back at Isamu. The look he saw on the Japanese man's eye was one that matched the fire he saw within his own. Kieren forced himself to bite his tongue as he smiled up at him. Gently, he curled himself into Isamu's chest. “You're right.” Kieren bit his lip when he smiled up at him. “It feels so long since you've said 'we.’” He grabbed his jaw for a kiss. “I missed it.”

 

Isamu placed his hand in between their mouths. “Not now, we should go,” Isamu gave a nod with a stern look. “We can get a head start, so we don't have to follow them.” The way his boyfriend punctuated 'they’ made Kieren's heart skip a beat. 

 

The two of them together had minimal items that they had to take. A few hair ties, a quilted blanket, and a pair of shoes was everything in their possession. They were ready long before any of the others. Half of them were still asleep.

 

While Kieren stood back, Isamu took charge and asked Frieda and Ellenor where they were going next. Kieren licked his teeth watching Isamu hold himself taller than he was used to seeing. 

 

They were in the car before anyone else, alone in a quiet, dark parking lot. Kieren sat in the driver's seat without question as Isamu sat tall with his built chest puffed out. Kieren had no clue what happened to the old Isamu, but he liked this one. He wondered what lengths Isamu would go to for him.

 

“Are we going to go?” Isamu asked. His voice was firm, yet still not nearly as deep as his own.

 

Kieren climbed over the center console to perch himself up on Isamu's lap. “We've got time,” Kieren said, licking his lips. It was more sensual than usual as Kieren drug his fingers around Isamu's face, avoiding the bruises that still disfigured his nose. Slowly, Kieren placed his lips upon Isamu's, kissing him soft at first, but then pushing and pulling at the other man's lips. The moment was surreal as they barely spent intimate time together. Then Kieren latched onto Isamu's neck with both his hands. He squeezed and squeezed as Isamu's body flailed about. Kieren bit his lip. The timid Isamu, he could break, but the confident Isamu, he could tear apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hippity hop time to kill a cop.


	182. Or Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A gut feeling can be sickening.

It was only getting more difficult for the group of supers to find a place to stay. Since the incident at the dormitory, most of them agreed that kind of public place wasn’t where they should set up at all. Some preferred the more central places where they could use people to blend in. Others liked the completely secluded places where they could use their powers without being seen. Ellenor couldn't care less. She simply followed direction given to her by the eye. However, the eye was being uncharacteristically cryptic lately, only telling her the near future instead of everything she needed to prepare for.

 

“Why do you always do this?” Frieda asked as she worked at Ellenor's hands. “You save others, but at what cost?” Gauze gently wrapped around her hands while Frieda slowly unrolled it. It was nothing to be burnt as long as no one died. She wouldn't lie, the searing blade might have been the most painful thing she had ever felt in her twenty-eight years. 

 

“It's okay,” Ellenor said as she closed her eyes, laying her head back on the headrest of the car. She remembered the images she saw at the carnival. She was certain in those memories she was wearing gloves as she commanded the lions around her. 

 

“If you had just waited a little longer, Isamu would have come to help you,” Frieda still scolded her.

 

“No,” Ellenor spoke with a certainty that only was valid in her case. “I had already seen it.” Ellenor went to cover her eyes with her hand. “Kieren is relentless. I can't believe the things he's done. And then he surrounds himself in Isamu, making it near impossible to predict his next move. Yet he himself is too arrogant to recognize any of it.”

 

Frieda grabbed Ellenor's hands tenderly, pulling them away from her face. “As long as Isamu keeps calling you powerful, I think we'll survive.”

 

Ellenor scoffed. “It's not me I'm worried about. He only listed four people when I asked who he considered powerful, including himself. If he won't attack me because of that, then that means he's willing to hurt anyone else.”

 

“Of course he is,” Frieda scowled. “I don't know where we'd be without Isamu.”

 

“I thought I'd get better after sitting down with both of them, but nothing has changed.” Ellenor clenched her fists. “I still can't see them. And you knew didn't you?” Ellenor addressed the eye who had been silent the whole time.

 

“Just because it didn't work for those two doesn't mean it wasn't necessary,” The eye replied. “Now I can see Lolias, Pete, Vivian, and Patch more than I ever had before.”

 

“It hurts so much to see Lolias like that though,” Ellenor clenched her hands on top of her temples. “I wish there was something I could do!” Frustration was taking over her mind. “I can't see how this is going to end!”

 

Frieda's hand placed upon her own made her calm down. “It's okay,” She comforted as she rubbed their hands together. “Don't focus on them. What's something you can see?”

 

Ellenor shut her eyes to allow the eye to take over. It was the same as every time she let it have control. Thousands clapping, her, standing front and center as she bowed with a hat in her hand. It replayed in her mind for what felt like the thousandth time. Sadly, it was cut short by another vision of a not so distant future. It was sometime later, approaching dusk, as all the supers had pulled off the road for a meal. They would all be apprehended within minutes of sitting down, but all be saved by the aloof Tadaaki. They would all be fine, and Ellenor wouldn't even have to warn them. 

 

“I see a delicious meal,” Ellenor told Frieda, opening her eyes. “And you feeding me because of my stupid hands.” 

 

Frieda chuckled. “It's okay.” The younger woman moved into her for an embrace. “You saved everybody.”

 

With a smile, Ellenor turned away to look out the slightly tinted back window of their car. Together, her and the eye observed the sun that hung just above the visible treeline. The eye told her that everything would work out without her intervention, but nerves built up inside her with every passing second that the sun got closer to the horizon.

 

At a stop light, just after the sky had turned orange, Pete rolled up next to the emerald car that Eryk drove, with Frieda and Ellenor in the back, in his own white vehicle. He gestured at Eryk to roll the window down in order to speak.

 

“Hey!” Pete shouted over the distance and the sound of engines waiting. “These kids are starting to whine, ready for dinner?” He gestured back towards the backseat, though the passengers couldn’t be seen through the darker windows.

 

Eryk glanced back to the women in the backseat. “What do you say?”

 

Frieda sighed. “Isn’t it a little early to be pulling over?” She crossed her arms.

 

“Well,” Ellenor looked out, only seeing the silhouettes of the children in the back of the car. “If they need to eat, they need to eat.” She looked back to Eryk. “Let’s go.”

 

There was a sickness in her with the uncertainty. However, she smiled at the thought of a car full of complaining children, who she knew Pete handled so well. She’d love to warm up to them the same way he had, but she felt as though she had too much lost time. It was odd to remember that some of the members of their group, mostly children, hadn’t met her whatsoever until only two months before. She supposed, agree them on dinner time would be the first step to getting to know them. 

 

Once they turned the next corner, Ellenor could see the place from her visions. It was typical of them to choose a lowkey restaurant that had as many tables outside as it did inside. Even though it was her preference, Ellenor needed the space to always be outside in case of their fights. It allowed more room to attack and be attacked as well as not destroy something inside. While indoors were sometimes good to trap persons, they weren't working to trap, only to buy enough time to run.

 

Frieda insisted that Ellenor remain seated while she went to get them a meal with the change that they had been piling up between all the cars and places they visited. As she waited, Ellenor tried to keep her eyes lowered and hidden under the bill of her baseball cap. It was hard not to be searching and scanning her surroundings. 

 

“Hey,” Bea gently tapped Ellenor's arm. “Are you alright?” Keeping her head down, Ellenor glanced to the kind girl that held onto her. Every time she saw the tiny hairs becoming more thick on the girl's face, she smiled at her future. Only, that expression didn't last when the white surgical mask hid Bea's snout from the world.

 

“I'm okay,” Ellenor looked down at her bandaged hands. “I'm just trusting everything around me.”

 

“Me too,” Bea's eyes crinkled up with a smile. “After this, you should let me ride with you guys. We can talk about whatever you want.”

 

“Bea,” The eye made an attempt to stop her from speaking, but her own conscious couldn't take it. “Someone is going to come, tackle Sachi over there,” She nodded towards where Sachi held his head in his hands alone at one of the tables not too far from Kieren and Isamu. “A few more will come, surrounding us, but Tadaaki will be able to rope them all to the ground. The eye says everything will be best if I don't say anything… But I'm scared.”

 

Bea moved closer to Ellenor. “It's okay,” The girl spoke in a soft tone. “We already trust you. You just have to trust it too.” Bea's big eyes gave her the confidence she needed.

 

“Okay,” The older woman nodded to agree with the girl's advice. She couldn't help but keep her eyes trained on Sachi, waiting for someone to strike. 

 

“What is he crying about?” Frieda asked as she sat down a couple of wrapped sandwiches on the table. She assumed that they were staring at Sachi because of his mood.

 

“I haven't seen him not cry in so long,” Bea shook her head. “It's so sad.”

 

“And he doesn't cry out loud anymore…” Ellenor's mind felt his pain. “He's forcing himself to be silent.”

 

“What do you think it's about?” Bea asked, looking towards the precognitive woman.

 

“Probably everything…” Ellenor shut her eyes. “It's been stressful lately. I'll have a sit down with him next.”

 

Bea sighed, “When will that be?” They both turned away from looking at Sachi to see each other. “Will we ever stop running?”

 

“No!” Their attention was taken away with a shout as well as a massive clashing. Sachi held his hands above his head, crossed to protect his face, as he fell onto his back on the ground. An officer jumped on top of him, but their legs were tangled on the chair Sachi sat in. They were, until the back of the seat broke off and fell. The compassionate man shouted and cried as he was hit with a baton on his forearms. 

 

Back towards the restaurant, Tadaaki had already dropped what he had bought and was sprinting towards the struggling Sachi. He was jumping tables with a dexterity no one had ever seen before. His determination got him further than he ever could have in such a short time.

 

Ellenor took Bea in her arms, carrying her to the middle with a limp. She stayed in the center of the chaos in order to avoid the action around the borders. Before she knew it, ** more children ran up and were clinging to her. She looked to see Pete throwing punches at officers just a few meters to her left. He worked hard to fend them off, she was happy to know that he would be fine by the end of it all.

 

Behind her, Frieda was swinging an electrified rod around with Eryk at her back, pulling the tasers out of hands and moving out of the way at the last second in order to hit her with them. She was impressed by his quickness. She never had so much energy inside her as she did then. Each person had their own helping of what they dished out to the supers.

 

To the right of Ellenor, Xander, Candy, and July had formed a triangle back to back to back, just in front of the truck that Lolias resided in. They protected it from being entered whatsoever, especially after the previous incident. Though none of them had powers capable of attacks, they still fought hard. All three of them already had the ends of taser gun wires sticking out of their skin, but they looked fierce as ever.

 

When she saw that Pete was pinned to the ground, Ellenor knew it was almost over. She looked to see that Tadaaki had taken a powerful stance in front of Sachi. The younger man wept onto the concrete ground. Tadaaki went to his side to pull him up to his feet, but someone came up, aiming at them. After it fired, it stuck into both of their arms, side by side. Tadaaki shook for a moment, but his face quickly curled into rage. He shouted loud enough to be heard through the entire town. It was then that every officer around the entire establishment was wrapped up in Tadaaki’s vines and lifted off the ground. All of them, except for one.

 

Ellenor's heart dropped. Tadaaki stared at the man that was armed with a knife instead of the typical taser gun. The blade of the knife, the man held up against Isamu's neck. His teeth were nashed hard as blood dripped out his mouth and down his chin. Isamu didn't move or even make a face as the man breathed hard against his back.

 

“Put them down, or he dies,” The man's words hung in the air along with the bass of his voice. Isamu didn't show any sign of agreement or disagreement. “Now!”

 

“You wouldn't!” Ellenor shouted. “You don't kill supers!”

 

“He doesn't have a power,” The man sneered. “I'll kill him, I swear it.”

 

“Do it coward!” Isamu shouted. His face finally showed his determination. “I dare you!”

 

Behind them, Ellenor saw Kieren slowly approaching. He was obviously ready to attack the man, but he wasn't doing anything. He just stood there. Until he looked to Ellenor. She hated the way his half lidded eyes and his twisted smirk made her stomach turn. She shut her eyes. Ellenor nodded. With her eyes shut, she still knew the horrible grin that Kieren would wear. Before the scream, Ellenor covered both Havi and Gabe's eyes, the two youngest supers of the group.

 

Flames bursting, blades tearing, and skin scorching consumed the air as Kieren let his power unleash. Though the moment seemed to drag on forever as the terror absorbed them all, it was over in an instant. Kieren had Isamu wrapped up in his arms, Tadaaki had all the officers tied down, and the kids huddling back to Pete.

 

“Let's get out of here…” Ellenor's voice broke as she went to command the others. Her confusion would be the end of her. She glanced to Isamu. Or worse.


	183. Sit Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "No one wants this life anymore!"

Dark circles seemed to be a common theme between each of the supers. The only person who didn't look tired was the darling Candy, who was most likely wearing a face of makeup. While some dark circles signified being tired, others were from stress or injury.

 

Ellenor stretched out her wingspan, extending her fingers as far as they went out. She released her breath as she slumped forward over the table that was set up in a tiny office. There were stacks of papers all over that gave it a terrible cramping feeling to it. 

 

There was a knock on the door that led to the mess hall of the closed camp. She supposed it could be called a closed mess. Before calling out that the person was allowed in, Ellenor straightened her posture. When Sachi came in with his head lowered, she was relieved, but she was upset by his expression. He was folded into himself and barely lifted his head to look at her.

 

“Hi there,” Ellenor attempted to be friendly as she relaxed into her seat.

 

“Hi,” Sachi barely spoke as he slumped into the other chair on the opposite side of the desk.

 

“What have you been doing tonight?” The eye’s warning to not ask about his emotions overpowered her curiosity.

 

“Nothing really,” Sachi turned to the side, his hair drooping in front of his face. 

 

“Who have you been with?”

 

Sachi’s lips trembled. “Tadaaki, just Tadaaki.”

 

Ellenor’s mouth went tight as she tried to keep herself positive even though Sachi was beyond sad centimeters away from her. “... Who have you wanted to be with?”

 

“Well, I love everyone, but,” The torn expression on Sachi’s sweet face made Ellenor question her phrasing, but the eye said nothing of warning. “I wish I could be with Isamu, and July, and Aki, and Hwan, and, and, and,” His voice was too broken to go on as he started to heave rough sobs. 

 

Ellenor leaned over the desk to reach for Sachi’s hand in order to comfort him. “Why can't you be with July?”

 

“She doesn't want to be friends anymore!” His crying was barely intelligible. “I kept messing up and I heard you and Bea, and Jenn way before her and she feels bad and I made her feel that way. I can't help what my power does and I don't want her to think I did it on purpose.”

 

“What did you do?” Ellenor frowned in confusion.

 

“I just, I just,” His voice was raspy as he sniffled. “I hear people and I can distinguish it all from so far away and I don't want to.”

 

“July can't do that?”

 

“It's just different!” Sachi covered his eyes. “We shouldn't even be considered the same kind of super!” Sachi shook his head in his hands. “She's incredibly capable and she can do anything she puts her mind to but… I made her not feel that way anymore.”

 

“I'm sure you two could talk it out,” Ellenor smiled as she remembered her conversation with Lolias only the night before.

 

“It's really hard,” Sachi covered his ears. “Every time she sees me I can hear her pain and I don't know what to do.” 

 

“You can do it, I know you can,” Ellenor finally took Sachi's hand in her own. “As soon as you break through that pain, things will be better.” Sachi's cries stifled as he sniffled. Tears were persistent, but he quieted down. “How about you and Tadaaki?”

 

Sachi smiled despite his hurt expression. “Tadaaki has always been there for me. He's not as physical as Isamu, but he always knows what to say.”

 

“Did you all know each other before the war?” It was incredible to Ellenor that they were all somehow connected after all the time.

 

“No,” Sachi answered. “We didn’t meet, I’m so grateful that we were all stationed together and even more grateful that you were able to bring Isamu back to us and take Lee away, so he couldn’t hurt us anymore.”

 

“Please,” Ellenor’s happiness was true to her heart. “Don’t thank me. I had--”

 

“So tell me,” Sachi cut her off. He lifted his face to show unfathomable anguish blended into consuming rage. “Why is Kieren any different?” Shock hit Ellenor hard with the indescribable look that Sachi drilled through her eyes and into her soul.

 

“Sachi…” Ellenor finally spoke after the shock settled. 

 

“When will this stop?” Sachi bit down hard as his tears poured down his face. “The running, the hiding, the lying, and the pain, will it ever end? Do you even care if it does?”

 

“I don’t--” The older woman closed her eyes to escape his judgement. 

 

“Do you feel their pain like I do? Will you ever understand?” Sachi clawed a his jaw below his ears. “No one wants this life anymore!”

 

“Then tell me,” Ellenor charged up out of her seat, over the desk, and into Sachi. She took his hands in her own bandaged ones to stop him from hurting himself. “Tell me how they feel, what I need to do, how I can understand… Tell me.” Sachi looked up at her, a brand new hope reborn in his glistening wet eyes. “I’ve been having visions,” She continued to speak as she sat back down, still holding onto Sachi. “Of the future, a very different one. I think it’s how we can stop hiding, stop running.”

 

Sachi heaved, his chest tightening in on itself as he shakily breathed, but he at least smiled. “Then we should do it, with everyone, but,” Sachi bit his lip. “I think you should get everyone to agree first.”

 

By holding her hand, Sachi helped Ellenor weave through the stacks of paper in order to exit the office back into the mess hall. A few people reared back from the door. Obviously listening in, Pete and July walked backwards. Ellenor couldn’t be surprised. Sachi was not the type of person to yell at someone. Heads perked up at the two of them, surprised that they were both coming out so soon and together.

 

“If you all would, could you all gather around?” Ellenor called out, loud enough to echo the wooden cabin. Confused looks were shared, but they mostly gathered without any verbal questions. The most intrigued face was her own wife’s. Frieda smirked slightly, but her eyebrows were brought together. Ellenor stood tall in front of them all as she scanned the various faces of the supers. She couldn’t believe how they looked to her, just waiting for her to speak. Taking a deep breath, Ellenor spoke,

 

“I’ve been having visions,” She smiled in remission. “Wonderful scenes play in front of my eyes and I know that’s where we all belong. It’s all of us, using our powers, being ourselves, and doing whatever we want. People line up for miles to see us. No more running, no more hiding, only being seen.”

 

“What is it?” Candy spoke up.

 

Ellenor met eyes with her as a grin broke across her face. “It's a circus.” Some eyes lit up with curiosity, others squinted with more confusion. “We perform, pretending it’s all fake, but it’s real, we’re real.” Ellenor was almost overpowered by the joy she felt that her eyes started to tear up. “This is what we need, I know it. It’s the solution.” Ellenor looked over to meet eyes with her beloved Frieda. Her mouth was slightly open as she beamed at her. Ellenor’s smiled faded slightly when she thought of how Frieda had just stepped aside to allow herself become the one to command the supers. She looked away to the group again, her happiness effaced and replaced with determination. “That is, and only is, if you will accept me as your ringleader.”

 

It took a moment the words to click for all of the supers. She was asking for them to take her in as their proper leader. She knew that Bea supported her, and maybe Isamu, but if she wanted this to work, she wanted it to be right.

 

“I do,” July raised her hand, stepping closer, in front of the gathered group.

 

“I do,” Tadaaki lifted his hand up too, just behind July.

 

“We do,” To Ellenor’s left, Jerricho and Vivica lifted their arms up together.

 

“We do too,” Kieren lifted his own and Isamu’s hand.

 

“I do,” Camelia came forward, gracefully holding up her hand.

 

“You  know I do!” Bea Popped as she raised one hand and wrapped the other around Ellenor.

 

It wasn’t long until every arm had been lifted up to agree with Ellenor’s offer. While not all of them were as dramatic as the first few, each extra one sent wonderful feelings through Ellenor. The former general, precognitive, french woman, was no longer defined by any of that. She was Ellenor. Ellenor was the ringleader.


	184. Receive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reputations go FAR.

“Is this what's been bothering you so much?” Frieda asked Ellenor as they walked down the street, their arms looped together.

 

“How did you know?” Ellenor smiled under her hat.

 

“I always know when something's up with you.” Frieda looked up at her, holding herself back from a sweet splitting grin. Ellenor turned away, ducking her flushed face into her shoulder.

 

“Are you skeptical about all of this?” The taller woman glanced around the street seeing how she and Frieda so easily blended into the people around them.

 

“Does it matter if I am?” Ellenor could hear the smirk in her voice. “You are the leader now. Rightfully so”

 

“Don’t be worried, everything is going to be fine,” As slick as she could, Ellenor wrapped another arm around Frieda.

 

“I know you’ve seen the future and all, but it’s still scary. As soon as we make this withdraw, they’ll know where we are,” Frieda looked to the ground to amplify her uncertainty.

 

“No they won’t,” Ellenor reassured. “Vivica will make sure of that.”

 

Buildings along the strip had various stores along the bottom, but leveled up to apartments above. While most of the signs were in swedish, the stores could be defined by their features. A cake shop smelled of sugar and fondant and the hair salon next to it left the stench of barbicide in the air. Further down the street, a printing shop had its doors wide open as hot air poured out of it along with quiet music. Next to the printing company was a narrow alley that seperated the apartment buildings from a massive towering bank.

 

Not slowing her stride, Ellenor looked down the alley, where sure enough Vivica and Jerricho were waiting. She carried on without a word to them as they entered the bank. Together, Ellenor and Frieda laughed and giggled as they spoke of a grand trip they were pretending to plan together. 

 

Inside, the bank smelled of a strange freshness. The way that the floor cushioned underneath her feet, Ellenor suspected they had just gotten new carpet. She looked around curiously to see the glass windows were clear to see outside, but not in.

 

“Now,” Frieda smiled as she led Ellenor over to the chairs, presumably set up for waiting. “You stay here while I get this worked out.” As she nodded, Frieda handed her a long metal cane with a horned handle.

 

Ellenor continued to look around, admiring the ornaments that dangled from the high ceiling. In her visual exploration she looked for the back route to the alley. She knew she’d have to get through somebody’s office, but she knew she could take care of that.

 

Up at the desk, Frieda twirled her hair around like a ditzy girl in love to distract the older looking woman up at the desk. She spoke of a long extended trip that they had been planning for months. Next to the woman, a young man stood at at least two meters, most likely more. He kept glancing at Frieda, squinting at her repeatedly. He was already trying to remember who she was.

 

Carefully, Ellenor stood up from her chair and started for the desk. She kept her head lowered, so her hat hid the eye, but kept her eyes trained on the younger man. His hair was slightly spiked up in the front, to show a very round hairline. His deep brown eyes sang of friendliness and as did his sparse freckles. Using the cane, Ellenor tripped herself, hitting the leg that allowed her only to limp.

 

“My word!” The old lady shouted.

 

“Babe!” Frieda cried. 

 

But it was the young man to drop all his papers and rush to her side. He took her elbow in his hand and her shoulder in the other. “Are you alright?” His concern was true, but he obviously had no idea what he was doing.

 

“I’m coming, just wait,” Frieda started to piled things back into her wallet. Her acting was so bad, that Ellenor was glad none of them knew her like she did.

 

“No, no, no,” Ellenor waved her off. “I know how important all this is to you. This young man will help me, won’t you?” Ellenor softened her eyes to confirm the trust between the two of them. 

 

“Let me get you some water,” He spoke as he lifted her up to her feet. Ellenor genuinely limped, using the cane and the arm offered to her as a crutch. She smiled at his kindness, but more so at the direction that he was leading her in, right towards the offices on the north side of the bank.

 

“Thank you so much,” Ellenor said as she collapsed into the chair in front of the desk in the office. She over accentuated her being tired as she scanned the windows behind the desk. Sure enough, between the small slits provided by the blinds, Ellenor could make out the concrete of the building next door.

 

“Are you alright, ma’am?” The younger man asked. Ellenor cocked her head at him, curiously eyeing the dew that had formed on his forehead. Nervous… he had to know that something was going on.

 

When the man reached out with a glass filled with water, Ellenor grabbed his hand, wrapping it around the glass tighter with her own. Her other hand reached up to snatch her hat off of her head. The bandaging on her hands came unraveled under her grip. As the eye that rested on her forehead came shooting open, the man’s own eyes widened in shock.

 

“We need your help,” Ellenor and the eye spoke together. The man retracted, making the glass slip in their hands. Swiftly, as though she knew it would happen, Ellenor took the glass and placed in down gently.

 

“You’re-- you’re--!” The man stuttered with a ghastly tone.

 

“A super, I know,” Ellenor frowned at the title given by others.

 

“Ellenor Marie!” As he called out her name, her own eyes went wide. He knew her.

 

“Have we… met?” Ellenor asked sheepishly. She had met too many people in her time as general, she couldn’t keep them all organized in her head. 

 

“You saved me!” The man scoffed, he held his hands to his chest. Another one of the privates that Ellenor happened to help on her many trips into danger. “You sent me home with other supers!”

 

Ellenor gawked. “What?” How could she not remember him?

 

“I’m Ozra Merott!” The man flashed her a cheeky grin. Something about his name along with the smile made something click. She remembered him, sitting in the medical bay, not far from where she often visited Isamu. He had somehow found out about their operation, but back then, he was just a mere boy. Ellenor had no way of knowing how old he was back then or in that moment. But she did know that there was no hiding those bubbly cheeks that made his smile full. “You probably didn’t recognize me, here,” Ozra took a moment to focus, and before her eyes she watched as he shrunk in his clothes, his eyes grew brighter, and his face got softer. Then, she could recognize him looking exactly like he did the day they had met. “I can control my age, essentially,” He shrugged as his then oversized sleeves flopped around.

 

“You’re…” Ellenor scoffed as she laughed. “Amazing!” 

 

“Thank you so much!” Ellenor couldn’t believe how his face heated up in pride. He then shook his head. “Oh goodness, you need help! What do you need?”

 

“Okay…” Ellenor took a deep breath. “My wife over there, has been receiving money from my… employer because I supposedly died, as you’ve probably heard. And now, we need that money, but we don’t want to steal or anything.”

 

Ozra raised an eyebrow. “It’s okay, we can just make a withdraw--”

 

“But,” Ellenor raised her scarred hands to slow him. “We’re being tracked, and hunted down, and if we do this, they’ll see that we were here and they’ll find us.”

 

He frowned as he adjusted his age and clothes back to normal. “Who is tracking you?”

 

“The Marshal, the government,” Ellenor looked down at her hands. “I don’t know why.”

 

“So,” Ozra clasped his hands. “What do we do?”

 

“Well,” Ellenor glanced over his shoulder towards the windows. “We just pop one open.”

 

After shutting the door, closing the office out from the rest of the bank, the two of them opened up the large glass windows that led into the alleyway. Ellenor peeked her head out to see the the girls waiting to be let in. Jerricho had wrapped Vivica in some clothes to hide her robotic features.

 

Ozra aged himself up a little more, causing his muscles to fill out into a bulkier build. With the newer form, Ozra reached out to help the girls inside. Even when Jerricho gave Vivica a boost, she was still difficult to pull up just by her weight and the strange way her metallic skin slipped in his grasp. With the two inside, they went over the plan with Ozra. 

 

Once they opened the door, Frieda’s head perked up from the desk. All the while, the older bank teller gave them no attention. Simply, Ellenor nodded to her wife. At that signal, Frieda reached forward, taking the teller’s wrist. Before electric sparks spilled between them, the woman gave her a nasty look, and Frieda apologized.

 

Frieda then connected herself to an outlet that was on top of the desk, sending a rush of current through it, causing every piece of tech to shut down, including the red lit exit signs. Vivica was quickly at her side, already imploring her to turn the computer back on.

 

“You know we have to use this, right?” Jerricho said flatly with her nostrils flared at Frieda. “Vivica wants to make sure you know.”

 

“I didn’t mean to,” The Norwegian woman was utterly frustrated. “I overdid it.”

 

“You should learn how to control your power better,” Jerricho criticized further. “Vivica said that.”

 

“Hey, you two,” Ellenor scolded. “We’re all doing this together, okay? We don’t have to get upset.”

 

Jerricho sighed. “Sorry, we’ve been fighting a lot,” The bigger of the two girls put her hand onto Vicica’s shoulder. “It’s just been so stressful lately.”

 

“It really has been,” Ellenor agreed. “But as soon as we’re done here, everything will get easier.”

 

“Okay,” Jerricho took a deep breath. “Sorry, Frieda, I didn’t mean that.”

 

Frieda nodded, even though she still looked distraught. She moved on to focus on powering the computer that Vivica worked on. Vivica simply had to put one metal hand against the desktop in order to run what she needed. The monitor showed what she was doing, but it moved way too fast for anyone to comprehend.

 

It only took a few moments until the drawer under the desk opened up, sliding open to reveal wads of cash that looked crisp, clean, and brand new. 

 

Then just next to the monitor, a slim printer spit out a greyed receipt. Ellenor raised an eyebrow before taking the glossy piece of paper.

 

There she could read that the receipt had printed on it a withdraw of one hefty sum, of one hundred thousand dollars. Which, Ellenor knew such a transaction wasn’t allowed in such bulk, but appreciated Vivica’s ambition. It was beneath the withdraw amount that Ellenor saw what she was truly interested in.  The balance of Frieda Perime’s account read  _ 27,641,191.88  _ dollars. While forcing her jaw to stay shut, Ellenor put the paper into her pocket with a slight grin falling through.

 

When walking back to the campgrounds that they were residing in, Jerricho told the group of the things relayed to her by Vivica, “The way she set it up, the transaction won’t go through for another week. As well as the communication has been shut off from that bank to the branches. Though she can’t stop any of the calls that might be made, no emails, no reports, and so on, can be shared.”

 

“Excellent,” Ellenor stated with triumph. “Great job today, everybody.”

 

“What about the kid?” Frieda asked her.

 

“He’ll be a witness, I’m sure, but they can’t prove anything,” Ellenor assured.

 

“Besides,” Jerricho sounded smug. “Vivica erased the tapes.”

 

“Consider me impressed,” Ellenor looked back to them. She could just feel Vivica’s smile.

 

“What are we going to do with it?” Jerricho asked shyly. She was much less bold when she was speaking for her own mind.

 

“Well, first,” Ellenor grinned. “I’d say we deserve a little relaxation, huh?” She looked for others’ approval. And sure enough, Jerricho and Vivica’s had lit up in excitement. 


	185. The Mall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mall scene shopping spree.

Stacks of cash were lined up on top of the table in the mess hall. While half of the supers were still in disbelief that what they had deemed the Least Lethal Heist Ever had actually been accomplished, the other half was also rigid as they didn’t know what this meant for them in their next move. 

 

“Okay,” Ellenor had to cup her hands over her face in order hide the grin that she couldn’t hold down. “So, I know I said that this money would be for production, but,” Her giddiness got the best of her as she allowed her teeth to shine. “A huge part of the circus we’ll need is a good attitude, and I figured this could be a way for all of us to get that. With Vivica’s aspirant attitude, there’s plenty to go around.”

 

“She says she’s not sorry,” Jerricho had her arms crossed in front of another table off in the corner where Vivica sat.

 

“I don’t expect her to be,” Ellenor laughed, her eyes scrunching up along with the corners of her mouth. “I think she’s done exactly what was needed.” Jerricho’s frown faltered for a split second which was enough to make Ellenor satisfied.

 

“Now, I know the question you’re all thinking,” Ellenor splayed her hands out to show her idea. “You can lay it to rest, because you will all be receiving the same amount of… we’ll call it ‘leisure’ pay.” Ellenor motioned quotation marks around the description. 

 

Together, Frieda, Eryk, and Ellenor handed out a thousand dollars to each member of the party with Lolias as the only exception. The money given away still left plenty left over, which Ellenor planned to invest in the circus. 

 

“How are we going to spend this?” Sachi glowered. “We’re not even allowed to go anywhere.” He too had his arms crossed in front of him, standing side by side with his comrade, Tadaaki. 

 

“I know what has been said before, but--” Ellennor was cut off as Bea Popped in front of her.

 

“We’re under new management!” The young girl’s enthusiasm made Ellenor snicker while Frieda grimaced.

 

A convoy’s drive later, the mall had upwards of twenty more people inside. It was bright white inside as the sun shined down from the windows that made up the ceiling. The light only reflected back up onto the white walls against the white tiled floor. Thought the building had every factor adding up to make it bleak, it was the vast variety of stores that gave it the colorful touch that it needed.

 

The bright pink provided by an underwear store was complemented by the deep green of the neighboring sport designated store. Up the escalator, a mustard yellow sang through the air and blended with the gray of the jean boutique next to it even though white trim separated them entirely. 

 

“No way!” Candy perked up as she grabbed July’s wrist with one hand and pointed at the circular teal sign that hung just down the way. “I haven’t seen a makeup store since before the war!”

 

“Shut it,” July hissed at her. “We’re not exactly in a place where everyone speaks English, you know.”

 

“Sorry,” Candy blushed. “I’m just excited.”

 

July heaved a sigh. “Alright, let’s go.”

 

Candy led July through the small amount of people and pillars in the main corridor of the lower floor. Though July showed reluctance, she was happy to see the different stores. If she wasn’t as excited as Candy, she was more so. She too hadn’t visited any place except the convenience stores that they stopped at when they had to get gas. It would be good to get some eyeliner that wasn’t the cheap brand. Her eyes fluttered shut in ecstasy as she imagined liquid eyeliner going on smooth instead of the pencils she was stuck with. Once out of her trance, she picked up the pace in order to keep up with Candy. 

 

The stout girl was raving about colored mascara and rainbow highlighter. July smiled when she thought of her older sister, Anna, teaching her how to apply highlighter. She wondered for a split second what had become of her only sister, but quickly dropped the thought when she remembered how willing each member of her family was to give her up and send her to certain doom. Then again, things were never certain anymore, especially with the group she found herself in. After all, the week before, the weren’t allowed to be seen, then that day, they were welcome to wander the huge mall.

 

“Let me use your wrist,” Candy said as a command, no question implied. When July wrapped up her sleeve, Candy rubbed glitter onto her.

 

“You know my skin color doesn’t exactly match yours,” July smirked. “How’s this gonna help you?”

 

“It’s not for me,” Candy didn’t miss a beat. “You’re pretty close to Lolias.” Candy put the bottle back without another word. 

 

July stopped for a moment before scoffing. “Lolias? With makeup?” July rolled her eyes. “Wouldn’t that damage his masculinity?”

 

Candy’s face went sour fast. With her nostrils flared, and lips tight she looked back down to the display. July's brows turned upwards as her lips parted. She was an instant away from touching Candy to comfort her, but she pulled back.

 

“What's wrong?” July questioned her reaction.

 

Candy crinkled her cheek up to her eye. “It's just that… Lolias misses performing so much and I thought maybe this could help, a little reminder of it, even if it's so small, and I thought you would agree, but I guess not…”

 

“He wore makeup during his routines?” July frowned as she attempted to remember the detail.

 

Candy didn't answer the question. “July, maybe we should drop this contest thing…”

 

“What?” July yelped. “But, we have barely started.”

 

Candy chuckled under her breath. “Okay, okay,” Behind Candy's smile, a sadness lingered.

 

“Hey,” July picked up a ridiculously priced pallette of eyeshadow that was varied shades of pink and only pink. “Isn't this what you had when you came to the infirmary?”

 

Candy squinted for a moment before her eyes went wide and cheeks went red. “You remember that?” Candy gasped.

 

July grinned. “How could I not? I was so jealous.” July scratched the back of her neck. “You didn't even use it back then. I'm glad you do now.”

 

Candy covered her face in a shy laugh. “So I look good in it?”

 

July scoffed. “Of course you do.”

 

Candy rolled her eyes as she reached for the same glitter that she had tested on July.

 

“I think blue is more Lolias's color,” July snatched the glitter stick out of her hand to replace it with a aquamarine pigmented liquid glitter. “Try this one.”

 

Directly above the makeup store was the brilliant yellow boutique that's color flooded out onto the white floor. Isamu walked leisurely behind the ever critical Kieren. Though he kept his face cool and relaxed, he kept a sharp eye on Kieren's movements. That morning, the raven haired man had been in a pleasant mood as he imagined what he would do at the mall.

 

He shoved another shirt at Isamu who folded it over the other clothes that hung over his arm. The younger man had been shuffling through every single article on every single rack. Pieces that he didn't give to Isamu for holding, he scowled at and shared his pessimistic opinion about. Isamu would nod in agreement, but not much more. He was taking it easy for the day, but would be ready if Kieren made any sudden movements. 

 

“Ugh,” Kieren rolled his eyes. “I swear if I see one more thing with this hideous pattern on it, I swear I'm having a fit.” Kieren held up a pair of shorts that had fringe on the trim. They were brown, yellow, and purple with a design that was made to imitate some ancient style. “What do you think, Isamu?”

 

“Hideous,” He agreed, using the exact word Kieren had chose. Kieren nodded in agreement.

 

After putting back the shorts, he held up a bright red shirt, lining the sleeves up with his arms. “How about this?” Kieren made a big show of what he was doing, spinning slightly to show the flare that the sleeves turned into at the elbows and covered the entirety of his arms, yet it had that briefness in the midriff that Kieren was always drawn to. 

 

“It’s… voluminous, yet… scanty,” Isamu raised an eyebrow to look cool on the outside as his insides begged whatever higher forces that Kieren would believe his comment. “Quite your style,” He tacked on the end to assure that Kieren would believe he noticed the similarities in the things he liked.

 

Kieren quirked an eyebrow for a second before breaking into a wide mouthed smile. “Yes!” Kieren twirled in it. “You like it!” Kieren’s cheeks scrunched up as much as his sharp bones would allow. While his excitement was true, he still didn’t react like Isamu thought he should have. When Isamu complimented Lolias, the huge man’s face got so flushed Isamu couldn’t believe the heat that came from him. Isamu looked down to the ground with a giddy smile as he reminisced on the early days of flirting with Lolias. 

 

“Hey!” Kieren lifted his arm up into the air, looking beyond Isamu to see the others that had just walked in. Isamu turned to see who Kieren was so excited to see. He couldn’t help the way his face lit up when he saw Sachi walk in with Tadaaki at his side. Though his left arm was occupied with Kieren’s load of clothes, Isamu still waved to them with the small part of his right arm that remained. Tadaaki and Sachi both laughed at Isamu’s jubilance.

 

Once they approached, Kieren held the shirt up again. “What do you think Tadaaki?” He made it flare just like he had before. 

 

“It’s… bright. Suits you,” Tadaaki’s reply was quick and half hearted, but it was enough to satisfy Kieren. The latter man did not ask for Sachi’s opinion.

 

“You two are just in time,” Kieren raised his chin. “I’m going back to try everything on now.”

 

The three stood near the changing rooms where hats, sunglasses, and other accessories hung. They put the different items on each other to see how good or how ridiculous each of them fared. A big floppy hat looked outrageous on Tadaaki and Isamu looked endearing on Sachi. An ascot that was too loud for Isamu and Sachi complimented Tadaaki’s bright eyes. A pair of outlandish circular sunglasses covered Sachi’s thin eyebrows, and made Tadaaki’s face look narrow, but hid the scar in Isamu wore over his nose and missing eye. For the first time in years, he smiled at his reflection.

 

When Kieren was done with his little fashion show, complaining about colors on him, and spinning when he was particularly pleased with how something fit him, Sachi had already left the store and waited outside for Tadaaki to join him. As Kieren checked out, the remaining two continued their casual banter that they hadn’t experienced since before the farm, before the explosion, before Lee’s abuse. It was refreshing.

 

Once outside, the two groups went their separate ways. Kieren latched onto Isamu’s arm that held one of the bags that they had gotten from the store.

 

“I like them,” Kieren smiled. “I wish they would hang out with us more.”

 

“Both of them?” Isamu frowned.

 

“Of course!” Kieren waved his arm. “Sachi may let his emotions make him weak, but he’s still a great presence to be around.” Isamu simply nodded in agreement, though, he wouldn’t allow Kieren to be around them any longer than necessary. He’d humor Kieren for as long as it took, but he’d never let him close enough to his friends to hurt them.   
  


Across the small bridge that connected the two sides of the upper floor, Ellenor and Frieda found themselves together in a small, cramped art supplies chain store. Each candle she lifted to smell, the eye warned her that she wouldn’t like the aroma. Without fail, her nose curled at every single one.

 

“How much silk do you think I could buy without it seeming suspicious?” Frieda whispered behind Ellenor. “A whole roll, but like, no more, right?”

 

“Makes sense to me,” Ellenor shrugged.

 

Frieda nudged her hard with a laugh. “You’re no help.”

 

“Maybe you should ask our fabric expert?” Ellenor suggested.

 

“Oh,” Frieda smirked. “And who would that be?”

 

“Pete.”

 

Frieda burst out into laughter, causing a few of the others in the store to look back at them. She covered her mouth before resting her chin on Ellenor’s shoulder. 

 

“Why does it feel like it’s been so long?” Frieda asked in a dreamy voice.

 

“Was last night not--?” Ellenor got cut off as Frieda shoved her again. They both broke into giggles in the back of the store.

 

The moment, of course, couldn’t last long. Nearby, at the cash register, a couple of older women spoke to each other.

 

The first one said, “I don’t know how to feel about it. I guess I get it, but they all belong in jail anyway.”

 

The second woman snarled, “It’s stupid. They don’t deserve to be like us.”

 

“Yeah, but we’re supposed to have equal representation, or whatever.”

 

“Supers shouldn’t have trials like us, they’re not like us.”

 

“It doesn’t really matter, they’re guilty anyway.”

 

“Everyone is acting like the first super on trial is some big deal, but who cares? They’re pathetic. Disgusting.”

 

“Right…” The first woman was apprehensive, but the second had defined beliefs.

 

Ellenor crossed her arms, holding herself, and hiding her face further under the bill of her hat. Frieda held onto her arm, trying to catch her eyes to comfort her in the slightest way.

 

“Let’s get out of here,” Frieda offered.

 

Outside the store, Ellenor continued holding herself as Frieda escorted her.

 

“Did you hear that?” Ellenor said in disbelief. “The first super on trial. Trial by jury…” She didn’t say it, but she meant trial by a jury full of normal humans.

 

On the ground floor, Sachi had wandered away from Tadaaki inside a contemporary store. It was full of different things, from records to paintings, and gemstones to vintage magazines. But none of that was what Sachi was going for. He made his way deep into the store, past a curtain made of blue beads.

 

He breathed in the smell of printed paper with a wonderful fluttering in his chest. He remembered when he tried to relay read stories back to Isamu. When he would get upset at how he couldn’t get them quite right, Isamu would sing to him and let him listen to the silence his mind provided.

 

As he wandered in further, he saw the adventure category. The sign alone reminded him of the day he met Ellenor. Back then, she was a terrifying force that he didn’t understand, and took Lee out without a second thought. Yet, later, she swore to never hurt anyone. She made Sachi think of the brave selfless heroes that always put others first. 

 

Even deeper, he saw the books devoted to athletics. He thought of Lolias in that moment. He barely ever saw the giant man perform the stunts he did, but Sachi could place one memory of Lolias outside the barn one day. He stood, breathing steady sighs as the others cheered at him. He then jumped with a force that sent him spinning backwards, and landed on his feet. Before smiling in victory, Lolias put his arms high in the air in an ostentatious display with his arms crossed at the wrists. 

 

It was against the back wall of shelves that Sachi found what he was looking for. July ranted to him about her brothers and sister and their love of sports. July said it was a normal thing that normal people thought was fantastic. She was constantly stuck in her living room watching the broadcasts every moment they were shown. She always said she’d prefer to watch a cheesy romantic movie instead.

 

Sachi didn’t exactly have a way to watch movies, but he figured that this would be the first step. He reached up to the highest shelf and grabbed the oldest thickest book out of the romance section. He read the backjacket.

 

It described a witch whose goal in life was to find a way to bring people back from the dead in order to revive her mentor who died too early into her training. Though she has little training, she goes on the ultimate quest with her black cat familiar at her side to get the experience she needs to conjure the perfect spell. However, was she going to save her mentor because she needed to be taught? Or something more?

 

Magic, romance, and a ridiculous adventure? July would love it. Hopefully, it would be enough to bring them back together. While he had Tadaaki, he still missed his empathetic friend’s presence.

 

As if on queue, July’s sound got louder until it covered up all the other noises inside Sachi's mind. She was the sound of shaking static that had wisps of clarity that sang a song in C major.

 

Sachi gasped as he turned around, clenching the book tight to his chest. Down the row of bookshelves, July stood, looking at Sachi, another book clenched to her own chest as well.

 

“Hi,” She said quietly.

 

Sachi shook his head. “Hi.”

 

“What have you got?” July quirked a brow. Her curiosity sang out through the confusion that was her static.

 

“It’s… I was going to get it for you.” Sachi looked her right in the eyes to show he wasn’t scared. He wanted to be friends, no matter what she thought.

 

July laughed. “I was going to get this for you,” She held out the small paperback book towards him. His mouth split as he realized that she knew he didn’t like them too long because he couldn’t stand everything wrapped up quick.

 

“July, I’m sorry,” Sachi pleaded as tears grew fast in his eyes. When they fell out of his eyes, he heard the static become more powerful.

 

“What?” July scoffed. “No, Sachi,  _ I’m _ sorry!” Despite her words, the song began to play a distinct melody. “I pushed you away, and that’s my fault. It was selfish of me to think you being more powerful than me would mean we needed to be apart. And I thought you liked Tadaaki more than you liked me, but that was stupid, since I know you love everyone equally.”

 

Sachi sniffled meekly even though he was beyond crying and just pouring out all his emotions.

 

“July!” He launched himself forward as he took her in his arms in a massive embrace. A reunion of sounds meant to be together sang out from July. Her melody and her harmony overthrew the static. She wasn’t confused anymore and she wasn’t overthinking. She knew that this was right.

 

Hours later, they returned to where they were taking residence inside the mess hall of a vacant summer camp. It was ridiculous the amount of bags that piled up. The sheer number of bags that was straight from the candy shoppe was absurd.

 

Within the trailer outside, Candy dropped a load of makeup in front of Lolias. The older man sat up with a start. He blinked as he tried to wake up.

 

“I have a gift for you… A couple gifts actually…” Candy looked down into the bag.

 

“You’re not with July?” Lolias questioned, still dazed.

 

“Nah, she’s making up with Sachi,” Candy explained. “It will be good for her.”

 

“I’m glad,” Lolias smiled.

 

“Oh,” Candy curled her lips into a dopey smile. “And I got the cutest top, you'll love it.”

 

Lolias chuckled. “Tell me all about it.”

 

“And…” Candy’s smile turn malicious. “I think you’re gonna get a chance to have a little shopping of your own.”

 

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” Lolias teased.

 

“I may be,” Candy praised herself with a crane of her neck. “But I don’t have as many as he does.”

 

Isamu walked up next to Candy as he shut the door to the trailer behind him.

 

“You know what I realized today?” Isamu walked up to hold Lolias’s hand. Lolias quirked his head with a devilish smirk. “You’re so cute when you blush.”


	186. Break In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lolias always gets left behind. It's time for a change.

Ellenor woke up simply by opening her eyes to look up at the ceiling. It was made out of speckled mineral fiber tiles of a large rectangular size. She glanced over at Frieda who was latched onto her at the shoulders. Past her wife, the row continued of the supers that were all huddled together and sprawled out on the laid blankets.

 

She grabbed Frieda's hand, moving it off of where it crossed over her chest. The younger woman blinked dazedly, but she nodded when she remembered their plans.

 

Ellenor stretched, but kept it as quiet as she could. Though the trip to the mall provided a chance to get some pajamas, which plenty people did, Ellenor still slept in her clothes. Whether or not that night was a special a case, she couldn't say.

 

The mess hall door outside creaked slightly when she opened it. The sound made her decide to slip out of the barely ajar door and shut it without allowing it to click when it got into place.

 

She smiled when she saw the tall toned July standing next to the stout round Candy. Even better, Sachi was there, barely able to keep his cool enough to not pop open the trailer door.

 

The four of them lined up behind the truck to push it. It was difficult to get it rolling, but easy when it got going. Together, they all moved their legs to run, but only moved as fast as the truck would allow. They pushed it until the mess hall blended into the horizon behind them.

 

July smirked as she asked why Candy wasn't complaining. Candy fanned July and asked if she thought that was some kind of workout “or something.”

 

“Is Kieren taken care of?” Ellenor asked Sachi. 

 

Sachi make a disgusted face at the mention of his name, but smiled after. “Tadaaki will be ready if he wakes up, but I doubt he'll be moving if that sedative did what it said it would.”

 

“Are we good?” Camelia asked as she poked her head out of the driver's side window.

 

“Yeah,” July called back. “I think we're far enough not to be heard.”

 

Once Candy snatch the license plate off the back of the truck, they let the door of the trailer swing open. Within, Isamu sat up on Lolias's lap, resting his head back on the larger man's abdomen. Behind him, Lolias stroked Isamu's hair with a delicate touch. Both of them had a deep redness to their cheeks, but nothing more.

 

Candy hopped in with July close behind. Camelia too joined them inside to have their own bit of relaxation. Ellenor moved ahead to the driver's seat of the truck to take over navigation.

 

Despite the girls’ presence, Isamu continued to mercilessly flirt with Lolias. The older man spoke to him how he'd look so good in that bright red lipstick Candy had gotten or how he'd be gorgeous in the tight shorts he saw on the rack. Lolias himself was exploding as Isamu acted so casual about such enticing words.

 

Candy gasped as she looked up from whatever she was scrawling on a piece of paper. July straightened up next to her as her sudden movements bumped the napping girl. “You know what I just realized?” Candy asked. Everyone looked for her to elaborate. “We all got a thousand bucks, but won't stuff Lolias needs cost more since he needs more at a time?” While Candy was fully realized, July squinted her eyes as she tried to work out the math in her head, Lolias frowned deeply, and Isamu widened his eyes. “It's only fair if he gets more, right?”

 

“What?” Lolias scoffed. “Don't be like that.”

 

“But you're…” Candy gestured him up and down. “You know.”

 

Lolias lowered his eyes to hide the fact that he had to tilt his chin significantly downwards to look at Candy while he was still sitting. 

 

“He's not a special case, Candy,” Isamu discouraged her, but his tone of voice and word choice made Lolias look up. “He's just like the rest of us. We're all the same. Would you say that I should get less because of my arm?” 

 

“What?” Candy's voice broke. “No!”

 

“Then Lolias is no different,” Isamu stood his ground. 

 

“I never thought about it that way,” Candy bit her lip. “Kinda weird, huh?”

 

The trailer door swing open after the truck stopped moving. Ellenor stood with her face covered in a blackened mask. The look sent a thrill through the trailer as they realized how illegal it was to do what they had planned.

 

Camelia hopped out of the truck without an ounce of hesistance. She and Ellenor seemed to be the only ones. The cuban girl grabbed the shadow that the door of the trailer cast down with the help of the moonlight. She directed it upwards to blanket it over the truck entirely except for the windshield that Ellenor required to see. Lolias then lifted the girl up on top of the truck to stand where she could keep the shadow on. He then had to hand her up another mask that was to hide her facial traits. She breathed in the smell of it to Lolias's confusion.

 

The truck closed and continued, not for long though, as they reached the mall not much later. They parked in an alcove of the rows of shops. It was like it was the inside of a broken doughnut.  They had to remain hidden, so the shadowy dark place was perfect.

 

The others filed out of the trailer, now disguised with neutral the masks, leaving Lolias within. He took a deep breath and sighed before looking up to see Camelia poking her head down from the roof.

 

“Ready?” She asked.

 

He nodded with a smile, “Ready.”

 

With that, Camelia reached down and grabbed the shadow that covered the trailer. She lifted it up, manifesting the intangible thing into a blanket-like object. Letting it unfurl down onto Lolias, Camelia grabbed as many shadows as she could around her making them connect and grow to cover Lolias. She then had to take different pieces of darkness in different ways to obscure Lolias's shape. Cubes of thin soft shadows Camelia expertly placed to confuse the fact that Lolias was a giant man underneath a giant blanket. 

 

Lolias then turned around, offering his face up to shadow manipulator. She swiped her hand through the darkness as though it was putty. She shaped it around his eyes to allow him to see out.

 

“All good?” She asked him quietly. Lolias nodded.

 

“Now,” Ellenor cringed. “This is gonna sound weird, but try to… walk as inhumanly as possible.”

 

“What?” Isamu squinted.

 

“Well…” Ellenor smiled awkwardly. “I just don't want anyone to identify him.”

 

Isamu's bruised nose curled. “Don't be ridiculous,” He waved a dismissive hand. “No one even knows what happened to him and no one is going to pay attention to walking patterns. He's already completely covered, what more could you possibly want?”

 

Ellenor was dumbfounded for a moment before she laughed. “You're right.” Isamu's face softened up.

 

The group carried on, following Ellenor's lead, allowing for Isamu and Lolias to fall behind.

 

“What's up with you today?” Lolias questioned Isamu with a smirk.

 

“What do you mean?” Isamu looked up to him. 

 

“You're being really… defensive,” Lolias explained. “Is everything alright?”

 

Isamu's mouth turned to pout. “Yeah,” He sighed. “It's just that everyone gets to go do whatever whenever, but never you. It's just not fair. Someday, supers will be treated equally." Isamu almost reached out to touch Lolias to comfort, but remembered that the shadow illusion would break under his touch. “And you're so special, so special, but you shouldn't be treated differently.”

 

“And you are the romantic,” Lolias teased. Isamu rolled his eyes. “It's not a big deal, I know I'm bigger than everyone, it's okay that I have to hide more. It's only natural.” Lolias laughed a little. “You don't have to defend me.”

 

“Okay,” Isamu sighed. “That's alright. But… when the time comes, you'll stand up for yourself, right?”

 

“Of course, or my name isn't--” Lolias cut himself off. “I probably shouldn't say my full name.”

 

Isamu chuckled. “One day.”

 

Lolias obviously had to crawl through to get inside the mall. Luckily, Camelia and Ellenor had slipped in from the back and gotten the larger loading dock door open for the rest of them. He struggled at the shoulders, but nowhere else. Isamu teased him for it, saying how broad shoulders enthralled him.

 

The eternally giddy Sachi bounded through the mall, excitedly leading them all to where he thought was best. While Isamu remained quiet at his side, the others in front of Lolias spoke loudly of where they wanted to go. He couldn’t even imagine how they had an idea of what they wanted to do. He had no idea what to even do. When he changed, he thought he would never go inside anything that wasn’t a barn. It was… amazing.

 

The crafting store provided rolls of fabric, sewing needles, paint brushes, and thread spindles. Across the way, cans and cans of hairspray were taken at abnormal quantities. Down the escalators, more capsules of pure eyeliner were bought. They had already broken enough rules, so they decided to leave money behind to pay for everything they claimed as their own. 

 

Laughing together, the lot walked back towards the loading dock. Their footsteps echoed through the tile made building, traveling down with the quiet discussions they shared of different experiences. Of course, Candy and July teased each other, Sachi praised everyone, and Isamu made corrections at false statements. When the loading dock came into view, Ellenor was plagued with a vision.

 

“Stop!” She hissed under her breath, holding her arm out towards Camelia who’s hand was floating above the button to open the vertical door. Ellenor shut her eyes to try and focus, but the vision was so blurry it was hard to make out exact people. So Ellenor focused on the colors. People dressed in uniforms pointing blue and white guns. But they were all dressed in black too, covered completely, save for Candy’s short shorts. 

 

“What’s wrong?” Sachi whispered.

 

“I don’t know… it’s trouble…” Ellenor sighed. When she opened her eyes she saw everyone staring at her, waiting for instruction. Lolias, Camelia, Sachi, July, Candy… and Isamu. She gasped aloud when she came to the realization. “Isamu, you have to go,” She pointed him away. “I can’t see things happening when they revolve around you.”

 

“Right,” Isamu was already jogging away from them. “Don’t worry about me, just get out of here, okay?”

 

“No,” Lolias scoffed. “We’re not just leaving him behind.”

 

“It’s okay, I’ll hide for the night,” Isamu nodded. “I’ll get back to you.”

 

Ellenor opened her mouth, almost ready to conjure another answer, but it wasn’t coming to her. She couldn’t see a solution without her sight.

 

“Come on,” Ellenor smirked. “We’ve got a fight to win.” Camelia’s posture went proud as Ellenor nodded for her to open the door. The rest of them hid against the wall next to the door as Ellenor and Camelia started to head out.

 

“Don’t move!” A gruff yet feminine voice shouted as the shuddered door lifted. From the opening, lights came in. Ellenor squinted as her pupils dilated. Camelia and her both raised their hands up, presenting themselves as surrendered. They both watched as they were approached by three uniformed men, two aiming pistols, and one aiming the blue and white gun that looked to have spikes pointing out of it.

 

“Are you supers?” A different voice yelled out, sounding more afraid than intimidating. Their faces were hard to make out as they were misconstrued by the lights aimed at their faces in the darkness they had gotten used to.

 

“No,” Ellenor replied, making her voice tremble purposefully. “We’re just humans.”

 

When the three of them got far enough into the building, Sachi, Candy, and July slipped out. Ellenor breathed when she saw them running for the truck silently. It was incredible how Lolias’s figure stood tall with a pillar without notice.

 

“Please don’t shoot us…” Camelia begged.

 

“Don’t be afraid,” Ellenor reassured. “We’re gonna be okay.”

 

One officer that smelled of vanilla with the gruff voice got close enough to Ellenor to touch. She worked hard so that she would blink as little as possible. She wasn’t afraid. Camelia would save her.

 

The officer grabbed the top of the ski mask that covered Ellenor’s face. Her hair fell out in messy strings that confused her vision. She shut her eyes tightly, hoping, that maybe, the third eye wouldn’t be seen.

 

“Ellenor Marie?!” The officer backed up while shouting.

 

“They’re supers!” THe man behind the officer shouted, but Camelia was already bringing a baseball bat shaped shadow down on top of the one closest to Ellenor. From behind them, Lolias’s hand emerged from the blanket that covered him. He reached out and snatched the one other policeman that had a pistol. The remaining one fired the strange gun wildly at his giant hand as the other officer flailed in his grasp. Unfortunately, the white and blue gun shot a weird bullet into the side of the officer’s neck. Just when the official started clicking the trigger to no avail, Ellenor dropped to the floor, swinging her leg to knock the timid confused man to the floor. She disarmed him, taking the gun in her own hands as she straddled on top of him.

 

“Wait!” He shouted as Ellenor raised her hands to smack him with the gun. She hesitated. “There’s more coming. Get out of here!” Ellenor sighed.

 

“Sorry!” She wacked him as hard as she could with the side of the gun. As if on queue, sirens rang out in the distance. When Ellenor was running out the door, Camelia was right behind her. “What about Isamu?” The world was falling apart around her as she saw a vehicle with flashing lights turn into the doughnut that was their only hiding place. She knew that if she went back inside, she’d be apprehended on the spot. They wouldn't give her any time to figure out what that weird gun was before they shot her with it. 

 

Ellenor barked only one command, “Drive!” 


	187. Stand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confidence in this world? Maybe.

Confidence wasn't exactly what they were feeling when they got back to the camp grounds. Everyone felt the blanket of guilt that swarmed them. However, it wasn't until Tadaaki emerged from the room that Kieren was then alone in that they realized the true cost of what they had done.

 

They were back, hours before they had planned, but they didn't have Isamu with them. Their discrete operation was completely ruined by the single fact of what they had left behind.

 

When they returned there wasn't any surprise shared by the various supers. Uncommon happenings were too common to be noticed. However, the looks of dismay that they all wore when they entered the mess hall was what started the alarm.

 

“What's wrong?” Pete lifted his head from where he sat with the Gabe and Havi.

 

“What happened?” Frieda asked when she ran up to hold Ellenor's hands.

 

“Where's Isamu?” It was Eryk’s question that made Sachi break.

 

“We left him!” Sachi sobbed as loud as possible. He curled in on himself as tears streamed down his face in hefty amounts. July grabbed onto him, taking him gently in her arms.

 

“It went wrong…” Ellenor looked down to the floor. “I thought I'd be prepared if anything bad happened… but I can't see Isamu.” She shook her head. “I was too scared to go back… I didn't know what would happen.”

 

“It's okay,” Bea Popped to join Frieda in front of Ellenor. “We'll get him back.”

 

“That's not what I'm worried about,” Candy whispered under her breath.

 

“How are we going to find him if we don't know where he is?” Sachi cried harder with his own question.

 

Ellenor's heart wrenched in her chest when everyone in the mess hall looked to her for answers. Her eyes darted about, seeking out some kind of definite future. She saw all of them, knew all of them, excluding the only person she needed to see.

 

She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. Once done thinking and planning with the eye, she looked to them with her answer. “We are all together.” She tilted her chin up as she made eye contact with as many supers as she could. “The fact that we all met, that we're all here and alive is beyond me. But I know there's a reason. Maybe we're all fools, or frauds and flawed, but I know we belong all together. We've all been separated countless times, yet we're still here. Fate has its wicked ways, but I know we're meant to be.” The brightness in everyone's eyes sparked something deep within Ellenor. She had somehow brought them all together once again. The idea that her own beliefs resonated through others made her believe them even more.

 

“That's why you're the ringleader,” Bea shrugged with a smirk. 

 

“When we met Isamu,” Ellenor looked down as she reminisced. “We barely spoke and he was so scared. After sending your squadron to the barn,” Ellenor turned to Sachi. “I never thought I'd hear from you again. Yet out of everyone we sent, you were some of the few that made it.” Ellenor touched Sachi's shoulder. “He found us then, he found you then, I know he'll find us again.”

 

Sachi sniffled a lot as his lips trembled as he looked up to Ellenor who just kept her smile on. It wasn't long until the sweet man launched himself into Ellenor's arms and started sobbing more into her shoulder. 

 

That somehow made everything fall into place. Ellenor looked back out to the crowded mess hall to see the smiling faces. Pete nodded at her, Vivica wrapped her arms around Jerricho, and Eryk gave her a thumbs up. It would have been perfect. Then, there was the slamming of a door.

 

_ Fate has its wicked ways. _

 

Rushing in, Tadaaki was panicked with wide eyes and labored breaths. “He's awake,” were the only words he said. That made Sachi cry even harder.

 

The alarm took off again as people asked what they should do, where they should go, and who can help.

 

“It's okay,” Ellenor put her hands out to comfort the crowd while Tadaaki took Sachi in his arms. “Everyone relax and follow my lead.”

 

Ellenor told Camelia to stand to the left of everyone since their shadows were being cast westward by the rising sun. Tadaaki took the front and center, hoping that Kieren wouldn't hurt him after their agreements. Frieda stood just behind him, making her emotions surge to gain extra electricity. They all watched down the hall, waiting for an attack.

 

Just as the wait got too long to bear, the door slammed open, making every super jump. Only, when they looked down the hall, the door to the private room that Kieren had claimed was still closed.

 

They all turned around to the sound of the slamming door to see a hunched over disheveled man with blood running down his shoulder that dripped right off since there wasn't an arm to slide down.

 

“Isamu!” Sachi shouted in absolute joy. 

 

Isamu raised his head to show a swollen eyebrow. “I need you,” He pointed to Frieda. “Now, please.” He hurried to the closest table and collapsed onto the seat. Frieda ran to his side, examining the wound he had expertly wrapped a tourniquet made of his sleeve around.

 

“What happened to you?” Tadaaki asked with a coolness that spoke of the countless times he had seen his squad hurt. 

 

No one turned around to look, but the door that they had all turned their backs towards made the clicking noise that confirmed it was shut. They all did go rigid with their fear though, all except one.

 

Isamu didn't hesitate. “Last night, I heard a noise outside. It sounded like cars doors shutting. And when I looked out the window, I saw that Ellenor was driving the truck away, so I sat back down, only then, I couldn't sleep. I decided to go out to get a drink of water, but when I reached the creak, I heard more car doors. And I thought maybe I could lure whoever away from here if I acted like I knew where I was going. Not long after, someone yelled at me, asking for my name. When I didn't answer, they opened fire on me. So, naturally I fought back, tried my best to disarm and distract them, keep them away from here, but one got me.” Isamu hissed when Frieda prodded the wound. “They drove off, probably assuming I was out for good, and I'd say they won overall. But I did get this.” Ismau reached into his pants, pulling out a white and blue gun with a strange spiked bullet.

 

“What is it?” Frieda squinted at it.

 

Isamu put it down on the table for all to see. “I'm not sure, but I think it's a gun for supers.”

 

“What does it do?” Candy sounded scared as she cringed away from it.

 

“I don't know…” Isamu frowned. “I don't want to know.” The instant Isamu looked away from the gun and back to Frieda, she ripped the bullet out of his arm with a horrifying force. Isamu pulled away from her with a shout as he held his shoulder with a death grip. He looked at Frieda with a look of loathing as his breathing went gravelly. “Thanks,” He said with his teeth gnashed. Frieda cringed at him as an apology. He sighed hard when she got to bandaging him.

 

“You should have woke me up,” The different attentions were all finally connected when Kieren spoke. He stood tall with his chin held high and his canines showing. “None of that would have happened with me around.” Kieren crossed his arms as his face went more disgusted.

 

“You didn't when I got up,” Isamu argued. “I figured you were ignoring me.” Ellenor looked back and forth between Kieren and Isamu, amazed at how the older man lied with such conviction. “I can handle myself.”

 

“You obviously can't,” Kieren stepped closer, his hands going to his sides in balled fists. “Besides, we made a deal. You're supposed to be with me every second of every day.” Kieren only took two more steps before Ellenor got up to match his height. She held herself with determination in front of Kieren.

 

“You don't control him,” She said as a demanded.

 

Kieren snarled at her. “I do more than you do.”

 

“No,” Camelia joined Ellenor at her side. “You don't.”

 

Kieren glared at her. “Who do you think you are?” 

 

Eryk was up next to Ellenor at her side. “Enough, Kieren.” He spoke firm through his heavy accent. “You're outnumbered.”

 

Ellenor didn't have to look to see what that meant. Supers were joining her, standing as an immovable force against the strong, terrifying, devastating power that was Kieren. She was glad she didn't, since she kept her eyes trained as a display of dominance over him.

 

Kieren looked around at all of them. Though he had his teeth bitten down and showing, his wild eyes showed just how nervous he was. He scoffed. “You’re lucky to have me, you know that?” Kieren's voice started to shout. It showed just how panicked he truly felt. “You all would be dead without me!” When he bit his front teeth in Ellenor's face, she didn't dare flinch at him. “Augh!” Kieren stormed away from the horde of supers and out the mess hall door, slamming it behind him.

 

Minutes of silence past between all of them as they stared at the then shut door.

 

“That worked?!” July shouted with a crazed laugh.

 

Just like that, the silence was broken. Somehow, they had all beaten the strongest super that they had ever met with sheer will power. Victory was shared between all of them as hugs were dished out by a crying joyful Sachi, the relieved Tadaaki, and the amazed July.

 

Ellenor laughed with a disbelief that she barely could put into words. And she turned to look at still sitting Isamu. He stared at her for a moment, frowning with confusion, before his lips split into the biggest smile she had ever seen. The Japanese man charged out of his seat to grab onto Ellenor with the tightest hug. 


	188. Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going out to eat for once.

Eryk jumped when the woman on the projector screamed. Next to him, Xander laughed at his discomfort. Eryk flared his nostrils at him. He hated horror movies with a passion, but everyone else seemed to be eating it up. Even Lolias poked his head into the mess hall to watch the old film on the big pull-down screen. With the lights off, Frieda and Vivica kept the movie running with their powers. 

 

Behind them, the other supers wrapped up into each other in a big heap of varied fear and amusement. Lolias has graciously given up his blankets to the crowd for their comfort. It made Eryk smile when he remembered snatching the fleece sheets from a convenience store back in France. 

 

When the credits started to roll, the screen immediately shut off as Vivica and Frieda unlatched themselves from the video player. Frieda’s head lolled as she caught her chin. Her face spoke of how drained she was.

 

“I’m starving!” Bea shouted as she flopped over into Ellenor’s lap. Her ears fell in waterfalls over the woman’s leg.

 

“Yes,” Lolias groaned from the door., “I swear it’s been a whole day since we ate.”

 

Candy rolled her eyes. “I just fed you, don’t be dramatic.”

 

“I think there’s a couple of fruit cups still in the freezer…” Eryk timidly offered. 

 

He jumped when Gabe made a gagging noise right next to him. “If I have to eat another one of those artificially flavored things I’m going to barf!” 

 

Havi shoved him. “As if you care about flavoring!”

 

“Just because I like it once doesn’t mean I like it every time,” Gabe huffed as he crossed his arms. 

 

“Come on, Ellenor,” Bea smiled up at her with her abnormally large eyes twinkling. “Take us somewhere!” Just like that, the **four kids along with Bea were on the floor around Ellenor begging for some hot junk food.

 

She laughed as she rustled Patch’s hair. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.” With that, Ellenor had won a place in each of the children’s hearts. “On the condition that you all let me ride with you.” They all seemed even more jubilant at that. Frieda widened her eyes in more fear than she had felt during the whole movie. 

 

“Don’t worry, Frieda,” Eryk leaned over. “You can ditch the missus and ride with Xander and me.”

 

Frieda furrowed her brow. “I don’t think I have a choice.”

 

Ellenor was already lifting up Havi and Patch up off the floor and onto her shoulders. It was shocking to see her so active after he witnessed her on death’s doorstep. Her limp sometimes returned, but there was nothing holding the french woman back. 

 

The supers were  _ exuberant _ . They acted as though they hadn’t had anything bought for them to eat in months. It wasn’t entirely inaccurate, but it was exaggerated. The only one that was true to the complaints was the giant cooped up in the trailer, Lolias. He spoke of how his mouth watered when he thought of the taste of over processed bread.

 

Eryk chuckled shaking his head as he hopped into the driver’s seat of his designated truck. By habit, Xander took the passenger, leaving the back for Frieda.

 

Once driving, Xander took to speaking. “You know, when I was younger,” He looked to Eryk with a smile. “I always said that I could live without fast food, or my phone, or any of those little things, but now, I’m so excited to get my hands on something disgusting and greasy.”

 

Eryk raised an eyebrow. “There’s something in the world that you would call disgusting? I’m amazed. This is a bizarre day.” Xander laughed. “But I agree. I always used to eat right, and now I know I’m going to eat so much.”

 

“How about you, Frieda?” Xander addressed the woman. “Eating habits?”

 

Frieda shook her head, trying to wrap her head around the conversation. “Sorry, but are you two friends?” She squinted as she pointed at either of them. 

 

Xander scoffed. “Of course we are.”

 

“She means we’re shy, Aim,” Eryk clarified for him, using the nickname he had made up for the younger man based on his initials.

 

“Oh,” Xander realized. “Yeah, I totally forget when I’m with Eryk.” He shrugged like it was nothing.

 

Frieda smiled. “Well, then I guess I’m glad.”

 

“I told Eryk to chill, though,” Xander continued. “He’s obsessed with keeping you and Ellenor safe, but all of the rest of us are just as important. Don’t get me wrong,” He turned around to meet eyes with Frieda. “I’m sorry for all that’s happened to both of you, and I’m so excited for the circus, and I’m proud of how far you’ve brought us, but I think that we should take care of our collective selves instead of you as our leader.”

 

Frieda stared at Xander. That was the longest she had ever heard him speak and he said exactly what she had been wanting to tell Eryk for a long time with much kinder words.

 

“I agree…” Frieda lowered her head. “I’ve been selfish, putting Ellenor above everyone else, but in these past months, I’ve grown to cherish what we all are not as people… but as a unit…” Frieda’s words sounded more like a question. “Now I’m sounding like Pete.”

 

“I like it,” Eryk commented. “Makes you sound passionate.”

 

When they arrived at the small establishment, built for making burgers, Ellenor was already trudging through the parking lot, three kids hanging off of her and two more skipping around her. Behind her, Pete carried Bea on his shoulders with Gabe holding his hand. Eryk held back at the door, holding it open to allow for the majority of the crowd to head inside, before he too entered. The workers inside were already dumbfounded by their massive presence. Luckily, there was only one other group inside of two pairs of teenagers, staring at them from their booth in the furthest corner.

 

All in one order, Ellenor bought one hundred and sixty dollars worth of food and drinks. It was only a matter of time then. Since so much food was being made, it was split into three orders. Each of them took to sitting around the restaurant. They had to all be split up since the tables weren’t exactly made for their amount of people. 

 

Eryk sat down with Xander at a small table made for four. There, Frieda and Camelia joined them. Off in the largest booth, Pete and Ellenor sat with the younger kids. The way they roughhoused only made Pete and Ellenor happier. Candy and July sat at the table closest to the counter, waiting impatiently for the food to be called out. They planned to bolt out to the trailer as soon as they were served. Isamu and Kieren sat at the table facing the windows with Sachi and Tadaaki sitting across from them. Sachi seemed to be doing most of the talking, knowing that Kieren would take over if he didn’t.

 

“Have you thought about the circus?” Xander asked. He leaned forward so that he could talk to the two girls without anyone else being able to hear. “I can’t get my mind off of it.”

 

Camelia curled into herself. “I’m not really sure. I’m more of a watcher than an actor, you know? I feel like I’d blow it if someone were to ask me or something along those lines.”

 

“But your power is so pretty!” Xander complained. “I bet everyone would love to watch you.” Camelia laughed. 

 

“How about you, Frieda?” Eryk leaned forward. “What would you do?”

 

Frieda stared at him as she imagined a circus. Clowns, elephants, and popcorn is what came to her mind. She had her doubts about this plan that Ellenor had somehow conjured, but she still often wondered where she fit into it all. She had always been a doctor, surgeon, and medic, what else could she do? She had never worked on anything else before. Then, when that thought came, so did another. Frieda remembered what she had always wanted to be. An inventor. To make things from nothing. She looked over at Ellenor, who was playing intently with the children, but she somehow knew the eye was looking to her.

 

“I don’t know,” Frieda smiled when she looked back to Eryk. “But I think we’ll know soon.”

 

Eryk sat back. “I think I know what I want to do.” He lifted his head up.

 

“What’s that?” Xander turned with excitement.

 

“I want to perform with a baton,” Eryk made a motion with his hand to show what he meant. “A baton twirler, if you will. I figured I'd be pretty good with my power.” Eryk had been imagining his show for days on end. He would throw the rod in a huge arch and everyone would be amazed by how it curved so much. He could hear the silence as the audience waited in anticipation followed by the uproar of applause.

 

“What if no one gets to do what they want?” Camelia asked, planting her head down on her palm. Eryk and Xander shared a look that spoke of fear. “Maybe we just have to follow Ellenor, right? She'll just tell us what to do.” Camelia sounded uncertain.

 

“But,” Xander clasped his hands tightly under the table. Eryk looked down to his lap. Frieda stared at her wife. “We're free,” He continued. “Right?”

 

When they looked to the booth, sure enough, the eye was looking at them, just barely peeking out from under the baseball cap Ellenor wore. Eryk didn't know how that thing worked besides how it made most everyone uncomfortable. 

 

After a satisfactory meal, untouched by the hands of Candy, the supers sat back with happiness in the plastic chairs provided by the restaurant. It was then that Ellenor stood from the booth of children, taking a stance in the front of the building to address all of them. It was magical how every super went quiet just from her presence.

 

“The longer we move,” Ellenor's smile sang out in her voice. “The more I feel the circus getting closer to us. Every second we spend, the tighter I feel the bonds between all of us growing.” Ellenor spoke with an expertise that was beautiful. She looked around, making eye contact with each person at least once. “Now, we are stronger than ever. And it's time.” Ellenor looked directly to Frieda. “It's time for opening night!”


	189. Circus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tonight is the night!

Ellenor ran around the mess hall with an emotion that was beyond excitement. She was too full of that emotion to sit still as the supers around her all got dressed and ready for the show.

 

Jerricho wore a three piece suit with Vivica in an elegant black dress. Jerricho used her hands to swipe at the dress to get off any lint that might obscure the pure darkness. 

 

Kieren was dressed in a flashy tank-crop-top that looked silver, but when light was aimed at it, it flashed the rainbow. To match Kieren's tight shorts, Isamu had on a spandex shirt that covered all his skin. The pants he wore obviously made him uncomfortable, but he smiled when Kieren made any little adjustments to the outfit.

 

Bea was laying on a table stretching her legs are best as she could. She made sure not to Pop or float all day to guarantee her energy. She had on her flower leggings with a t-shirt.

 

Xander and Camelia stood back away from the crowd as they practiced their idea. Camelia made stairs out of shadows that Xander would climb and jump down from. The two of them wore complimentary colors of yellow and purple except for their discolored with dirt shoes that didn't match.

 

Tadaaki crossed his arms in a corner where Sachi had a hand on his shoulder. He kept shaking his head as Sachi tried to help him. Tadaaki had on a gold trimmed green leather jacket. He wasn't sure about using his power so extensively without the sun.

 

Frieda sat at the table closest to the door with an exacto knife, a carbide glass cutter, and a pair of pliers. She worked at her glasses to cut out the pieces that weren't damaged by scratches and cracks. With those parts, she made equal lenses in the shape of obtuse triangles. She struggled to work the metal frames to the new shape, but she eventually had it.

 

Ellenor sat down next to her.

 

“My astigmatism makes the lenses curve weird,” Frieda explained without acknowledging Ellenor. “But I think if I flip them like this, I'll be fine.” Frieda held the new glasses up to the light and with one final grunt, she crimped the frames into place. Except for the dent in the left leg of the glasses, they looked brand new. Frieda placed them to sit on her nose and ears. “How are they?” She looked to show off her work to Ellenor.

 

“They're perfect,” Ellenor's face went soft when she saw Frieda try to gauge her reaction.

 

“Good,” Frieda stood to kiss Ellenor on the forehead.

 

“Have you thought about what you're doing tonight?” Ellenor asked, trying to ignore that Frieda was still in her casual attire.

 

“Yeah,” She started to clean up the mess of pieces of glass. “I'm not ready yet.” Ellenor's eyes went wide. “I don't have anything yet.”

 

Ellenor simply nodded before standing. “Eryk and Pete will be back soon, so there's not much time.” Frieda nodded and went back to her work. Ellenor looked away, hiding her uncertainty without Frieda.

 

She walked back towards the office of the mess hall. When she opened the door, Ellenor saw her trusty hat sitting perfectly on the cluttered desk. She took it and placed it on her head. Her outfit wasn't exactly what she saw in her visions, no one's were, but she knew this was right.

 

Ellenor took one look around the large building before heading outside to the truck that held the lions. Malzya grumbled out of slumber when she entered where Geo was at her side in an instant. She presented him with some flower she had picked, placing them in his mane. When he rubbed against her, most of them fell out, but he was too cute for Ellenor to care.

 

“Let's go,” Ellenor said quietly. She led the two lions to the ring of benches that were deeper in the forest. Said benches were made out of logs, but nonetheless, it was the perfect place for the show. 

 

First, she had the lions move around her in circles before she went to prance with them. She wore a huge smile on her face when they acted so obedient. The only problem was how much Malzya was yawning. 

 

Ellenor then heard footsteps approaching. She stopped goofing around and stopped to look at the approaching Eryk. He twirled a baton between his fingers in his oversized vest.

 

“Are you ready?” Eryk asked with a smile.

 

“I'm so ready,” She looked to the seating. “They'll all be filled.”

 

“You really look like a ringleader,” Eryk laughed. “You must be excited.”

 

“I am,” She placed her hand on Geo. “This is everything for us.”

 

Supers started to gather in the ring. The colors from all of them were so beautiful when put together. They made a rainbow together and more.

 

“Tonight,” Ellenor spoke to them. “We make our stance as the first circus of supers. The greatest part is that no one will even know.”

 

They departed, taking residence in the trees behind the entryway to the ring. Ellenor approached Candy and July who spoke quietly to each other.

 

“Where's Lolias?” Ellenor interrupted their conversation.

 

The two of the younger girls looked at each other before back to Ellenor. “He said,” July cringed when she looked over at Kieren. “He didn't want to perform on the same stage as them.” July pointed at Kieren holding Isamu's hand. “He said it was a disrespect to the stage.” 

 

Ellenor grabbed her head. “But… I thought he wanted this,” Ellenor sounded desperate. “I thought we all did.” Ellenor scanned her old visions for Lolias performing with a beautiful smile.

 

“Hey,” Candy touched her arm. “It's okay, he'll come around.” 

 

Ellenor breathed out. “You're right.”

 

Behind the circle, the supers tried to stay quiet as they waited. They wouldn't ruin the surprise to their audience without a reason.

 

Everyone started smiling and quietly speaking of their acts they planned. That's how it went.

 

For an hour.

 

Smiles started to fade as it became more nervous waiting. Nail biting silence was what filled the dark forest. And it went like that.

 

For an hour.

 

Pete stood and took the half sleeping children back to the mess hall. Others were too nervous to sleep.

 

Until another hour passed.

 

Most every super was tired. Too tired to be nervous.

 

“No one is coming,” Camelia whispered to Xander, but everyone heard it.

 

“Of course no one is coming!” Kieren's shout made the supers jolt awake. “This is stupid!”

 

“Kieren…” Isamu grabbed him to hold him down.

 

“No!” Kieren stormed off. Isamu followed him quickly.

 

“Ellenor…” Candy whispered. “What do we do?” 

 

Ellenor kept her head up. “We just need to wait.” And they did.

 

For an hour.

 

Candy dragged the drowsy July back to the main camp with Sachi and Tadaaki close behind. Camelia worked hard to convince Xander to give up his optimism to go back to the mess hall. Eryk touched Ellenor's shoulder and they shared a look before he left too. Ellenor only heard when Bea Popped away from the circle in the forest.

 

But Ellenor stayed.

 

For an hour.

 

She sat down on the ground in between the two lions. They were fast asleep, just like every other performer. She took one look towards the circle of log benches. She saw them empty. But she remembered her visions of her in front of thousands. Covering her eyes, her mind went wild. What had she done wrong? What did she need? How did the others give up? Tears started to pool in Ellenor's palms as they drained her of every bit of hope she had.

 

When the final hour passed, Ellenor had nothing left but her own shame. Frieda walked into the clearing where she sat with her lions. The Norwegian woman held a fleece blanket around herself that she opened up when she sat down next to her wife. She wrapped Ellenor up in the blanket with her. They shared no words of the night, the show, the circus. They just sat. Too soon, Ellenor's fatigue got the better of her and she fell asleep on Frieda.

 

As the sun hit Ellenor's eyes through the tree branches, she blinked until she was awake enough to remember the night before. She wiped at her face where dried tears kept her eyes partially shut. 

 

Frieda looked at her with a pained look that she tried to hide. Ellenor shut her eyes to allow more tears to fall down her face. 

 

Her wife escorted Ellenor back to the truck to let the lions back in. Ellenor hugged each of them, despite her crying. Frieda led her the rest of the way to the mess hall. When the door opened, the supers all looked to her. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Ellenor spoke with a broken voice. “I don’t know what I did wrong.”

 

“It’s okay,” Candy tried to comfort. “We’ll just try again.”

 

“No!” Kieren snarled. “Don’t you get it? No one gives a shit about us and they never will! This is useless! You’re all useless!”

 

Jerricho curled her lip up. “You sent us out there with nothing. No plan and no idea what we were supposed to do!” Jerricho held her temples. “I actually thought you could be our leader.”

 

“Besides,” Pete looked up from his hands. “How are we supposed to encourage supers when they’re all arrested?”

 

“And how can we pretend to be normal people acting like supers?” July stood. “It doesn’t make any sense!”

 

Just then, the slamming of car doors from outside made the fighting stop. Everyone froze as footsteps came closer to the mess hall from outside.

 

Ellenor only had one idea to keep herself as the rightful ringleader of the supers. “I’ll distract them, you all run out the back. We’ll meet at the burger place again.”

 

All the supers took off without another word. Frieda looked back to Ellenor, waiting for her to follow, but the older woman shut and locked the door behind them. She sat down on top of the table facing the main door and waited.

 

It burst open as though they hadn’t even tested to see if it was unlocked. Ellenor shielded her eyes from the light that came in.

 

“Ellenor Marie!” A man behind a mask shouted. “Put your hands up!” She obeyed without hesitation. She kept her head down as she was approached.

 

Rough gloved hands grabbed her wrists to put handcuff around them. They clicked to where they were tight enough to be uncomfortable. She heard radio chatter of jargon she didn’t understand.

 

“I never thought I’d see her in person,” Someone remarked amazed.

 

“I never thought she’d be alive,” Was someone else’s reply. 

 

“Help me,” She begged the eye aloud. “Please, say something.”

 

Surrounded by uniformed people, Ellenor was escorted outside. It was terrifying, but maybe it would make up for the false hope she had given everyone. The closer she got to the dark vehicle with tinted windows, the more she wanted to cry. It was over and she hadn’t even gotten the circus.

 

Then, the eye answered. “Have you ever played with a jump rope?” It asked with a giddy tone. That is when the flood gates opened. She saw exactly what would happen with her, the supers, and these operatives.

 

Ellenor jumped as high as she could, tucking her knees in as tightly as possible, as she swung her arms from behind her, under her legs to her front. She clasped her hands together as she slammed them into the side of the head of the only person with their visor pulled up. He shouted while he stumbled. While each of them were in shock, Ellenor took off running.

 

“Left, left, right,” The eye guided her through the trees with bullets blazing past her, never hitting her. She sighed breathlessly in a thrill of how she managed to live. “Jump.” Ellenor barely avoided a hole in the ground. “Now hide.” Ellenor dropped to the ground, crawling under a massive brush. It poked at her in horrible ways, but she could handle it. She heard multiple people fall in the hole she had barely avoided. They travelled deeper and deeper into the woods without even checking for her. “Let’s get out of here.” The eye said with a smirk.

 

Ellenor kept off the road as much as she could. She didn’t want to be seen with handcuffs on and running. Eventually, she did have to follow the road since there was only one sign leading her to the fast food restaurant. 

 

Sure enough, in the parking lot, Ellenor recognized three of the cars they had claimed as their own. The moving truck, the emerald car, and the vehicle with her lions. She almost started running to them, but she saw Candy with her hair littered with twigs, Pete with his shirt torn, and Sachi with his face cut. She remembered what happened. There was no reason to celebrate this day.

 

Frieda stood and approached Ellenor, taking her in her arms. The other supers looked to her and said nothing. She had failed, they were defeated. She at least could offer something.

 

“Hungry?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disappointed?


	190. First

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do you have a good memory?

Ellenor sat at the small table where most of the supers avoided her. She scratched at her own fingers nervously as Frieda hid her own. No one was talking in the small place. It was incredible how quiet the supers were capable of being. 

 

After everything they had gone through, Ellenor put hope into all of them. They trusted her and followed her blindly since she had rescued them once from the Provencal army. And she had let them down. Right after she had taken charge of the group, she showed how incompetent her idealistic attitude made her. There was no apologizing.

 

“What now?” Frieda finally spoke. Ellenor clenched her fists tighter. “We have nothing to do, nowhere to go.” Ellenor shut her eyes. Frieda sighed. “Maybe we should just go back to Grålum. My brother would help us, even just for a little bit.”

 

“But… I know…” Ellenor stopped herself. She had been so certain before. The circus was vital to the movement of the supers. But none of that had worked. She was wrong. Why was she so certain?

 

Frieda froze, her body going rigid across the table from Ellenor. She stared just past Ellenor’s head to the wall behind her. Ellenor slowly turned to look up at the same thing. She saw on the television display the reports of the first super on trial blowing up. Attempting to stay calm, she turned back around.

 

“Did you tell anyone about that?” Frieda looked around nervously as she spoke in a hushed tone. Luckily, most everyone was ignoring them entirely. 

 

“No,” Ellenor whispered. “I was too hung up of the circus. Looks like I shouldn’t have been.”

 

“If anyone sees it,” Frieda put her hand up to direct her voice only to Ellenor. “They’ll want to do something.”

 

“I know,” Ellenor shook her head. “We should, but… I don’t know.”

 

“It’s dangerous, Ellenor. That should be the only reason we don’t do it.” Frieda sighed hard. “We’re already screwed as is.” Frieda slouched forwards. “At least the sound isn’t on.”

 

“I know,” Ellenor admitted, sinking down further into herself. But that didn’t matter any longer, because the sound was suddenly cracking on behind Ellenor. Her posture went straight with the noise as the announcer spoke.

 

“--Super on trial tomorrow for crimes against the Provencal army during the war. An alibi to desertion, conspiring a prisonbreak, and demolishing the largest anti-super cargo freight ship, this super will face consequences for its actions.”

 

The television continued, speaking of how the super didn’t deserve the same rights as humans, and how there is no evidence against the super, and how the super is somehow at fault for the Marshal’s disappearance.

 

“You knew!” Jerricho’s voice echoed through the yellow building as she aimed a finger right at Ellenor. “You knew and said nothing!” Vivica pointed at Ellenor, mirroring Jerricho. It showed how it was the cyborg girl telling Jerricho what words to say.

 

“No, I just- you don’t understand--!” Ellenor held her hands up trying to physically defend herself against words.

 

“Why?” Pete said too simply. The look he gave Ellenor made her heart wrench. 

 

“We… we have to do something!” Sachi looked around. “Why aren’t we doing anything?”

 

“Were you just distracting us?” July stood with her nostrils flared. “Using this ‘circus’ to keep us away from that?”

 

“Is there anything else you're hiding from us?” Tadaaki stood as he spoke. 

 

“You always lie to us!” Jerricho pointed harder at Ellenor.

 

“Enough!” Frieda shouted Electricity popped and crackled around her, filling the establishment with horrifying noises. She took a stance in front of Ellenor, putting her away from the attacking supers. “Get out of here,” She commanded over her shoulder. “We'll meet you back at the Ahvenlampi.”

 

“But--” Ellenor looked panicked at the angered supers. 

 

“Go.”

 

Ellenor walked slowly, moving in a wide circle towards the door. She kept as much distance as she could, with Frieda moving to keep an obstacle between her and the group. She glanced just for a moment to see the fast food workers looking confused and scared. She couldn't help them seeing the commotion, she just hoped they didn't piece it all together.

 

Once at the door, Ellenor grabbed the metal bar that covered part of the glass and sprung out of the restaurant. Outside, she could hear the yelling start up again. Through the glass windows Ellenor watched as Frieda took the anger that was meant for herself. 

 

She almost started to go back in, but small plants started to grow through the cracks of the parking lot around her. She ran for the moving truck that held Lolias, taking off without saying a word to him.

 

Inside the cab of the truck, Ellenor’s laboured breathing made her head spin in circles. She couldn't stand the reminder that she had left without warning.

 

With panicked fingers, she reached out to turn the radio on. The button clicked on with a satisfactory noise, but the volume was turned on too high. Still shaking, she turned it down as fast as she could. Voices sung in a language she couldn't understand and she decided it was all she needed to calm down. 

 

She kept her eyes trained on the busy road. It was bright outside as most people had been just let off of work. Since she had to be aware of the cars around her, she could push her situation to the back of her mind. 

 

As long as it took to walk there, it took the same amount of time to drive back. When facing the mess hall, she turned off the car and slouched forward. She sighed hard with such shame, disappointment, and self-loathing that she didn't want to even move.

 

She wouldn't have, but she heard a small thud from the back of the truck. It reminded her that she might still have one friend in the world.

 

With haste, Ellenor hopped out of the driver's seat, jogged through the grass rass to vigorously pull open the trailer door. She almost swung it directly into the car that had been left behind in the commotion.

 

Lolias’s head perked up. “Hey,” He spoke calmly. “What’s up?”

 

After that Ellenor heaved a long sigh. “I messed up.” She trudged into the trailer, collapsing on the ground. “I don't know if I can come back.”

 

Lolias crossed his arms. “What happened?”

 

Ellenor clutched her hands in her lap. “I was so focused on starting the circus that I ignored another super that needed… needs our help.”

 

“Do you know who it is?” He asked the question, but Ellenor could feel his uneasiness.

 

“No, I don't,” Ellenor admitted.

 

“But we're supposed to help, aren't we?” Lolias crossed his arms.

 

“Yeah,” Ellenor bowed her head. “But I fear now it might be too late.”

 

“And the circus didn't work?” Lolias stated more as a fact.

 

“Yeah,” Ellenor hated to all she was admitting.

 

“Then you had the wrong priorities.” Lolias's comment had Ellenor back to her feet. “No one was ready for the circus, and we just charged into it, when, in the real world, we should have been helping a super.” Lolias scoffed. “Don't get me wrong, it's not like I could have done anything in either option, but maybe you should think about what we're capable of.”

 

“I thought I was doing something right,” Ellenor covered her face. “You know that, right? My visions are real and I swear I wasn't doing anything on purpose.”

 

Lolias sighed. “I know, but what about what everyone else wants to do?”

  
  
  


“Yeah…” Ellenor groaned as she covered her face. “And we should! But there’s so many ways it could go wrong! If only I knew who was on trial, then I could actually see them! They won’t say their names though… you know, dehumanizing supers beyond recognition and such. That’s what they always taught us as lieutenants.”

 

“So what are you going to do?” Lolias pushed his growing bangs up from his forehead and on top to the rest of his hair. 

 

“I guess… I’ll have to go get them out of there before they go on trial.” Ellenor shrugged. “But I have no idea if that’s going to work.”

 

Lolias scoffed, his irritation finally coming through.

 

“What?” Ellenor squinted up at him.

 

“You always want to solve everything by yourself,” He frowned down at her as he spoke. “I thought everyone was supposed to be a team together now.”

 

“But everyone could be in danger!”

 

“But you’re forgetting everyone!”

 

“I’m protecting all of you!”

 

“You left me!”

 

And those words were enough to make Ellenor realize what the argument was truly about. “Lolias…” Ellenor started to think of how to comfort him, but the slamming of car doors outside made her stop.

 

“You should go,” He warned her. “I’m sure they’ll have hell for you to pay if they see you.”

 

Ellenor hopped up, jogging to the trailer door. She only glanced over her shoulder once to see Lolias curled back into the same position Ellenor had found him in. She painfully closed her eyes before she left him… again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, remember that thing that was mentioned once? Yep.


	191. Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Planning is hard.

Justice was a thing that was found in a place that offered proper representation for all different kinds of people. It was a profound thing that a world of greed and confusion could never learn to properly understand. In a world that only offered lies and propaganda against the entirety of a people, justice was an impossible thing to stumble upon. 

 

Ellenor had refused to snarl in the faces of those who spoke of her people in such a way that only dehumanized them more than their own thoughts did. There were only a few supers that thought highly of themselves, the rest hated what they had become. They didn’t need every person in the world to speak of them the way they did.

 

Though Ellenor hated it, she completely agreed when Pete talked about the ridiculous responsibility that they should take because of their group. She was then unquestionably the leader of the righteous group. Since they were actively fighting for their freedom, Ellenor knew that they were in fact just as Pete said. They were the activists that all supers needed.

 

So, when faced with the question, ‘how much could they stand up,’ the answer was complicated? The first super to ever go on trial may be the biggest court case of the twenty-second century. As the group that stood for supers, what were they supposed to do?

 

For certain people, that question might be simple. The super on trial would obviously not receive proper representation, and the courtroom would be full of regular humans. Even if the super was given the option to speak, they wouldn’t be heard. There was no point in intervening as the fate of the super was already determined.

 

Other people had a much different, but equally absolute answer. No matter how unfair it might be, they had to interfere in order to help in anyway that they could. Sitting idly meant nothing for their cause. It didn’t matter whatever happened as long as they tried.

 

Of course they had to consider their own safety as well. There was no way for them to guarantee that they too wouldn’t be persecuted alongside the super on trial. The chance that their faces would be broadcast was just as high. They would be hunted down on the spot.

 

Ellenor sat running through the dilemma over and over, looking at it from all the angles she could conjure. She knew her own answer, but that didn’t matter. She wouldn’t be able to infiltrate since she would be recognized and seen as a super. Her power could only get her so far. It would be someone else sitting there to stop the jury. If hats were accepted indoors, maybe it could have been her, but it was impossible. She clenched her fists tighter at her temples.

 

When Frieda had heard the news within a small craft store, Ellenor knew that her intuition would be to ignore it entirely and tell the other supers nothing of it. She couldn't say the same for herself. The eye had to force her not to speak of the circus until the time was right. Ellenor could have held off, spoke to Frieda, the eye, Lolias, or even Eryk of their next move, but they had all been there before she was given that choice.

 

Inside the tiny restaurant, where half of them had to stand to eat, the story was told by a news station. Even though only the subtitles had been turned on, Vivica had caught it. She rewound and replayed the broadcast, the second time with the sound live.

 

Then, just after they had blown their money, failed their performance, and gotten divided. And of course Ellenor was to blame.

 

She buried her head further into her palms. There was barely any advice she had been given, or plans she had made, or ideas she had conjured and as the sun got closer and closer to the horizon she lost more and more time before the next day’s first trial of a super.

 

Swallowing her pride, Ellenor stood from the desk. This is what she needed to do.

 

Sure enough, as soon as she opened the door made of spruce wood, all the supers had their eyes on her. Luckily, no one said anything, simply waiting for her to speak.

 

She looked around to every face of betrayal, disappointment, confusion, and anger.

 

“I made a mistake,” She said, almost laughing at herself. “And now, we might be too late to do anything, but we can try…” Ellenor frowned when she held eyes with Vivica. “That is… if you all want to do something about it.” She looked out the window towards the trailer that still held the friend she had left. “We’ll take a vote.” She turned back to them all. “Do we act or do we stay silent?”

 

“We have to do something!” Pete was the first to say. They all knew his side long before he spoke.

 

“I will not stand back,” July came forwards, crossing her arms. 

 

“I’m with her,” Candy latched onto July’s arm. 

 

“It’s out of the question,” Jerricho scoffed. “Why are we debating this?”

 

“Not everyone is an idealist,” Kieren sneered. While the other supers were standing, willing to plea for their cause, he sat back with his limbs spread out, Isamu tucked into his side. “Who cares about what happens to some random person as long as we’re okay.” The way he spoke gave of the sense that he meant only himself. “I say we stay silent.” Eyes shifted to Isamu, waiting for him to convince the raven-haired man otherwise, but he remained submissive and quiet.

 

“Haven’t we gotten in enough trouble lately?” Camellia spoke up. “We should chill out… I feel like every move we make someone is getting hurt or arrested.” 

  
It hurt Ellenor deeply that the girl who never spoke said such devastating facts. 

 

“It’s not our battle,” Frieda spoke. Her words got her some nasty glares. “We should stand down.”

 

“How could you truly believe that?” Sachi pushed forwards, almost bumping right into Frieda. “We’ve done nothing but stand aside!”

 

“Enough,” Bea Popped loud enough for the group to be silenced. Though she had barely spoken a word, her sense of distrust rang through the room. “Ellenor said a vote.”

 

“All in favor of not getting arrested?” Eryk asked bitterly.

 

“No,” Bea snapped back. She seemed to be the only one of the supers remaining relaxed. “All in favor of attempting to save the super on trial?”

 

Ellenor watched as the various people raised their hands. Bea took the liberty of counting the hands in the air.

 

“All opposed?” The arms dropped to be replaced by others. Another count was taken.

 

For, Sachi, Tadaaki, Candy, July, Pete, Gabe, Havi, Flower, Vivica, Jerricho, Xander, and… Ellenor.

 

Against, Frieda, Eryk, Kieren, Isamu, Paul, Jamie, Vivian, and… Bea.

 

Twelve to nine: for.

 

Kieren stood up dramatically when he saw how outnumbered his choice was. “And what then?” His voice echoed down the only corridor of the mess hall. “We don’t have a plan! We have nothing!” He was suddenly gesturing all around the room. “They can’t vote, they’re children” He shouted, pointing to the smaller supers. “You can’t decide, you’re biased!” He aimed a finger right at Ellenor. “What say do you have in it? You’re barely a member of this group!” He snarled at Camelia.

 

“Wait,” Candy lifted a hand. “What about Lolias?” It was true; they hadn’t asked for his vote. For some reason, that made Kieren cool down. He crossed his arms defiantly, but didn’t argue.

 

Some of the supers chose to remain inside, but running through the sudden rain, Bea, Frieda, Candy, July, and Ellenor all went to the moving truck. None of them spoke to each other as they moved through the night as a bitterness for the split decisions they made hung in the air.

 

Candy grabbed the lever to open the door, but her hand slipped off of the wet surface and she stumbled with her own force. July went to help her up while Frieda took hold of the handle, opening it without hesitation.

 

Within, a Lolias with dark circles around his eyes sat upright against the plywood wall. He looked at all of them with a strange way that spoke of disdain and dissociation. 

 

“Need me for something?” Lolias bared his teeth.

 

Candy shrank into herself at the comment, July averted her eyes, Frieda sighed, and Ellenor took a wave of grief from herself and the eye. Bea seemed to be the only one that didn't catch on.

 

“We're trying to decide what to do about the super going on trial.” Bea explained. “It's close to a draw. What do you think we should do?”

 

With that, Lolias's lip curled up. “Why would it matter my opinion? It's not like I'd help you at all. Or that you'd let me out of here!” Lolias slammed his hand into the side of the truck, making the others jump at the noise. 

 

“Lolias…” Frieda started to come forward to comfort him, but he looked enraged. “There's nothing we can do…”

 

“I'm a prisoner!” Lolias started to shout, but hissed instead. It made Bea and Frieda jump again, but the girls were only in despair from his outburst. “I'm not interested in helping you when you only use me when you need me.”

 

Candy moved forward. “I'm so sorry… I…”

 

Lolias’s look of pain made her stop. “Just leave me alone.” 

 

With July consoling Candy, Bea Popping away, and Ellenor bowing her head, Frieda shut the trailer door.

 

Once again, they remained silent, a new feeling shared through them, as all of the supers dreaded the truth. 

 

When they entered the pine made mess hall if the campgrounds, the divided supers looked for the answer they needed that they didn't have.

 

“He wouldn't take a side,” Ellenor informed the group. “It's just us.”

 

Kieren huffed under his breath, “Useless giant.”

 

“Then it's settled,” Pete stepped forward. “No more decisions.”

 

“But what are we going to?” Sachi's voice sang of doubt. “We don't have a plan.”

 

And sure enough, the supers we're turning towards Ellenor, their supposed leader. Why did they look to her when she had failed them?

 

Ellenor sighed, allowing the others to see her vulnerability. “Does anyone have any ideas? We could vote on plans too.”

 

“You…” Bea squinted at her. “Don't know?”

 

Ellenor shook her head.

 

“What about the bank?” Jerricho called out, obviously angered by Ellenor's aloofness. “You pulled that off like it was nothing with no plan!”

 

Ellenor looked down, knowing the eye was staying shut for whatever cryptic reason it had. “I don’t exactly know how my power works, but I do know I need to have met the person involved in my visions in order to see them. Hence why I had the sit downs with all of you… But I somehow knew Ozra at the bank. I truly would help if they would just release the name!” Ellenor stopped talking before her frustration got the best of her.

 

“I have an idea,” Xander offered quietly. He raised his hand with a little smile. Most of the other supers looked at him, surprised he would speak up in front of the large group.

 

“So do I,” Sachi hopped on top of the bench around the picnic table he stood at. 

 

“I have a couple thoughts,” Candy offered.

 

“Vivica does too,” Jerricho told the group.

 

Ellenor nodded to each of them, “Take down your plans, come up with your pitches, we’ll reconvene to vote when you’re all done.” Ellenor found coming up with small solutions much easier larger ones.

 

“Ellenor,” Frieda approached the leader of the supers with a brisk pace, but with a hushed voice. “Can I talk to you?” Frieda avoided eye contact as she looked back to the supers, making sure no one was looking. Ellenor joined her in the glance. The leader was pleased to see the supers suddenly collaborating with each other in creating their ideas. Even Kieren sat quietly, listening to Sachi as he gestured out his plan. Ellenor was relieved that the damage wasn’t permanent. 

 

“Of course!” Ellenor said, possibly a little too cheery according to Frieda’s tone. 

 

Frieda spoke barely above her breath, with her back to the group. “You know you can’t be there.”

 

Ellenor’s eyes lost some of their fullness.  _ That’s _ what they were talking about. “I know.”

 

“There’s no way to predict what could happen,” Frieda continued.

 

“I know.”

 

“There’s nothing we can do to help anyone who goes in there.”

 

Ellenor looked to the beautiful group. They seemed to gain some of their liveliness back together. The last thing she wanted was to put them in harm’s way. “I know.”

 

“And we can’t be there,” Frieda grabbed Ellenor’s wrist. “And they’ll be outnumbered, Ellenor,” Ellenor looked down to Frieda who finally held her eyes. “We’ll have to leave behind anyone if anything goes wrong.”

 

Ellenor looked away, back to the group. She shut her eyes to cover her pained expression before opening them to see Frieda again. “I won’t leave them,” She said with certainty. “But please, Frieda,” She took the smaller woman’s hands inside her own. “Don’t leave me.” With that said, the certainty in Frieda’s face wavered and that was enough for Ellenor to know her answer.

 

“Alright, supers,” Ellenor approached the group with a smile. “Let’s hear those plans.”

 

Vivica went first, using Jerricho as her outlet. Jerricho explained how Vivica, with the use of a computer, she could find out the jurors of the trial. With that, she could create a fake ID mimicking them for one of the older supers. They would infiltrate by swaying the voters to help the super instead.

 

Her idea made Sachi exuberant to share next. He said he wished to be one of the jury members. Inside, he could make certain people feel guilty for condemning the super. That way, they would feel sympathy for the super and then vote them as innocent. Plus, he might be able to make a judge in a big wig cry, which would be exciting.

 

Afterwards, Xander shared his idea. He explained how he wished to lock all the doors around the courtroom. By locking the entire trial inside, it would eliminate anyone trying to get outside. Therefore, keeping the super safe inside. Then, Frieda could disable all the police cars surrounding the area, except for a fake one that they own, in which, they take the super away.

 

Candy was the last to tell of her plan. She wanted to take the plans of the prosecutor and sabotage any evidence they may hold against the super. That way, there is no prosecution to even begin with. Though, she doubted that there was anything they were actually using against the super and that the whole trial was a publicity stunt against supers. July comforted her though, commenting on how the idea wasn’t that bad. 

 

Ellenor weighed the options in her head. “Now,” She pursed her lips. “All of these are too good. I think… we should just do them all.” Most of the supers looked more confused, but Ellenor smiled with a certainty she faked. She took a seat at the nearest table. She reached out for the pad of paper Candy held. When she slammed it onto the tabletop, she got to writing up the plan. The first one that she couldn’t just make up as she went. She hoped spur of the moment wasn’t her only expertise. 


	192. Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sachi infiltrates the courtroom.

“Run me through the plan one more time?” Sachi was nervous.  _ Nervous _ . The young man the night before was so excited as they all got to use their ideas, but when the time had rolled around, he was beyond terrified. His hands were shaking as he held the fake ID that Vivica had used a printer inside a police station to print with Sachi’s likeness on it.

 

Earlier that morning, Vivica, Jerricho, and Frieda all broke into a police station before waking hours. There, they snuck around the concrete fortress that meant nothing to a few supers. They got past the metal detector with Frieda, past the sleeping guard with Jerricho, and into the computer with Vivica. Frieda then started a car outside without breaking a sweat. While none of them spoke during the entire operation, they yelled triumphantly together when they sped away back to the campgrounds. That was one piece of their plan complete.

 

Next, Candy was posing as a journalist. She was outfitted with an awful outfit that all she did was complain about. She was also equipped with a voice recorder that she recorded herself making her fake introduction over and over. No one was quite comfortable with leaving her in the huge group of news reporters already waiting outside the courtroom, but Candy was more than excited to pretend to be someone else. So she was left in her pantsuit standing with her voice recorder, ready to take over the prosecutor.

 

Xander was posing as one of the enthusiasts against supers. They were all protesting around the courthouse, holding signs that read of crude things that were believed about supers. There, Xander claimed he would be alright, hoping the inherent goodness of people would be on his side. Not far from Candy, Xander stood with the protestors who had umbrellas in case the rain picked up again.

 

That left their final piece not yet into position. Sachi wanted to be completely sure of what he was doing before he headed in, which was rational, but slightly excessive after how many times he had been given the rundown. But he didn't care. If this was going to happen, he needed to do it right.

 

“All you have to do is blend in until you get the signal,” Ellenor explained. 

 

“And what's the signal?” Sachi asked.

 

“Recess,” Ellenor grimaced. “Assuming they take one.”

 

“And what do I do?” Sachi asked again.

 

“Let Candy in, leave the rest to her. From there, you work your powers on the jury inside the back room.” Sachi nodded at Ellenor’s instructions.

 

“What if it doesn’t work?” Sachi finally asked the question. “What if they don’t sympathize with the super at all?”

 

Ellenor closed her eyes, the sound of the waving silk coming from her only confirmed Sachi’s concern. She too had the same doubts as him.

 

“If they truly don’t…” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Then maybe there’s no hope to understand us,” Sachi was confused by her cynical output when her mind sang of optimism with the fabric blossoming out and billowing down. “But it will show other supers that we’re here, and we’re still fighting.”

 

Sachi smiled at that. “I think I’m ready.”

 

Ellenor drove around to the back of the courthouse where there were far less of the protestors and the press. He only had to push past a few of them who asked him a million questions. This seemed to intrigue others, who also rushed him. Before he could understand the gabbering, he lunged for the door, a security guard in brown letting him in and locking the door behind him. 

 

He sighed hard before graciously thanking the taller man. He then handed over his ID card that did have his name on it. He sat down at a computer where he scanned it.

 

“You should have got here earlier, like the rest of the jury,” The guard mentioned. Sachi wouldn’t have caught it normally, but since the two of them were the only ones in the vicinity, Sachi could pick out the sounds of his mind. They were sounds of rocks scraping each other, with the occasional soft sand sprinkled on them. The way it sounded of two especially smooth rocks with rough corners being rubbed together, Sachi understood that he was speaking facetiously. “You would have gotten in a lot easier.”

 

“I was showering,” Sachi gave his already conjured excuse. He ran a hand through his thick damp, but clean hair. 

 

The rock slammed together, reverberating slightly, before going back to the smooth rubbing. “I don’t blame you. I rather like it.” The man looked out the tinted windows. “It’s thrilling to have so much attention for once.” 

 

Sachi didn’t like the way the rocks sounded anymore. “Attention?”

 

“I mean, we all know this is just to assure the passing of the Dissimulation Bill, it basically means nothing.” He shrugged as he handed the ID card back to Sachi. “Godspeed, Mister Virtanen.”

 

Sachi nodded at the name that wasn’t his before hurrying deeper into the courthouse. It was painful, but he had to be as inconspicuous as possible, and that meant asking no questions. 

 

Sachi followed the path of the brown speckled marbled floor through the cathedral-like courthouse. He had to restrain himself from stopping to look at every painting that hung along the way. Most of them were similar, the basic white haired white skinned man in colonial but noble garb. 

 

By listening to the commotion not just in his head, but through the halls, Sachi found himself led to the main courtroom were more than a hundred people were gathered. It was a volcano of sounds that erupted from it when he opened the large oak door that was his only barrier from whatever stunt they had to pull off.

 

Sachi hadn’t been around so many people since the beginning of the war. Back when he was stationed on the front lines alongside the majority of the other supers fighting. Then, there were far more people than there were in that courtroom, but it still reminded Sachi of those times, years ago.

 

It was incredible to him how many new noises he heard. Surely, there were people in the world who shared the noises in their minds that Sachi could hear, but nonetheless, every noise he heard was brand new and individual. All but one. It didn’t stand out in the conglomerate of sound, but it did to Sachi since he recognized it. Candy’s sound was that of a cascading waterfall that hit the bottom of a glass bottle as it split into tiny pieces. By how fast the sound was hitting the glass bottom, Sachi could understand her fear.

 

Sachi made his way to the jury box without speaking to her, but her presence alone made him relax and feel better.

 

Already, the benches holding the jury were filled with the eleven other members of the jury. When Sachi went to go up the steps to enter the jury box, the definition of those eleven people’s sounds became clear. As to which one had each sound, he hadn’t figured out.

 

A mouse’s squeaking, the crumpling of a plastic bag, papers tearing, the splattering of liquid, scratching of skin, grinding of salt, adhesive splitting apart from itself, food sizzling on metal, a sewing machine clicking, wind rustling leaves, and a vacuum cleaner running over thick carpet were the noises he was able to pick out just based on the distance between all of them.

 

In the first row, a man hunched over a notepad as he vigorously wrote down in scrawlings that were too distorted for Sachi to read. He was already taking notes of the trial that hadn’t even started. Next to him, a woman talked and talked to the woman sitting next to her. They spoke of nothing relating to the day, as though it was just another business day. The man sitting next to them fiddled with his nails with a pen. He was obviously bored and uninterested. Beside him, a woman kept glancing over and over towards the benches that held the audience of reporters and people. She would look composed for a moment, but then go rigid, making her hair fall out of place when she looked to the crowd.

 

The second row only held five people. One man sat back in the corner of the jury box, leaning back in a way that Sachi knew would be considered disrespectful to anyone who cared. He would yawn and doze off, but would jolt awake when an especially loud person laughed or spoke. Next to him, another woman sat. She looked around curiously, but made no movements to speak to anyone else. On her right, another man scribbled on a piece of paper out of the notepad that they all seemed to have been provided with. Instead of the writings, Sachi saw that he was making crude renditions of the other jury members, sharing them as jokes with the man next to him.

 

The final empty seat was ready, ready for Sachi to take. He trembled as he sat next to the man who humored the other man’s drawings. He looked out towards the crowd that was ready for the super. They didn’t care, nor did the jurors. It took work to not make eye contact with Candy, the only piece that kept him from not crying under the pressure.

 

Somehow, the noise around the courtroom quieted down. But when Sachi looked, everyone’s mouths still moved, pencils still scrawled, and high heels still tapped the marble. Sachi looked around, moving eyes fast and head turning, searching for any noise. He attempted to stay calm, but even the sounds of the minds around him faded into nothing. When the noises faded to a point that rendered Sachi deaf, a horrible sound came stabbing into his mind, yet it came into his own mind slowly and steadily. It was horrible and disgusting. The sound of a high pitched frequency, like feedback, making chills run around Sachi’s body. The worst part of the sound was… he remembered it. He recognized it.

 

Everyone’s sound was different. That was a fact Sachi knew ever since his power had been bestowed upon him. But, there was a correlation that Sachi couldn’t deny between certain ones. Kieren sounded of burning, scorching, terrible, relentless fire, Lee was heard as nails, sharpened to a point, tearing at a chalkboard, only to hurt, The Marshal sounded of a pistol, striking, shooting, hurting. They’re sounds were made of pain. Sachi hated each one of the sounds. And each of the people did him wrong. This sound wasn’t inherently bad like the others, however. But it hurt. It pained Sachi to listen to it, even though, he had only ever heard it once, he remembered it like it was his own voice.

 

Then it stopped. His hearing came back. Just in time to hear the door, on the other side of the judge’s stand to the jury box, open.

 

Two officers, one male, one female, fully equipped with helmets, protective vests, and massive boots, led one man, dressed in a prisoner’s jumpsuit, into the courtroom. Even though the realization had come with his sound, seeing the man was so much worse.

 

There, with handcuffs on his wrist, jumpsuit on his body, dampener on his chest, and beard on his face, stood the drag queen that Sachi had witnessed abuse Frieda as he threatened her if she didn’t pay him. 

 

There stood Cardon.

 

Without Candy’s soothing sound grounding him to the Earth, Sachi would have fainted. But her sound was peeking just as both of their emotions were. Her reaction was just further confirmation that Sachi was nowhere near mistaken. 

 

Cardon was there. Cardon was on trial. Cardon was the super on trial. Cardon was the super they were trying to save.

 

Luckily, the dissociation from the situation didn’t last long as a booming voice spoke to the entire room, “All rise for Judge Achsah.” That forced everyone in the courtroom to their feet.  Then, in dark robes, entered a beautiful older woman whose silver hair only complimented her deep brown skin. The lines at the sides of her eyes and the lines connecting the sides of her mouth to her nostrils, made Sachi feel warm towards her immediately. She was a smiling kind of woman. Though it lasted only a moment, when she smiled to the Bailiff at her side, Sachi was amazed by the beautiful whiteness of her not quite straight teeth. Her presence was strong in his mind. She was as loud as the jury members despite the distance. She sounded of the chopping of wood, but peaceful. Sachi could see the scene in his head that her mind created. 

 

After she sat the others in the courtroom took their respective seats. That had everyone down except for Cardon, the two officers at his sides, and the Bailiff. When Cardon didn’t sit, the Judge gave him an inquisitive look. He simply held out his wrists uncomfortably.

 

“Get that super out of those cuffs,” Judge Achsah gestured with a single finger at Cardon and an officer. Though the female officer looked apprehensive, she did it without question. While she didn’t address him, it was still better than nothing.

 

From the crowd, came forward two men, each wearing complementary suits of deep navy and light tan. They smiled at each other as though they shared a joke, but no one else heard it. The one in navy moved to sit next to Cardon, the other to sit alone at the table set for the prosecutor. Sachi squinted at them, confused how they were so friendly with each other. 

 

“If the Bailiff would provide the affidavit,” The Judge spoke, her voice echoing through the large quiet room. The tall man that was the Bailiff walked to the table where Cardon sat. He took one pieces of paper that was clearly marked, returning it to the judge. She barely looked it over before addressing the defendant and prosecutor again. “In the case of Cardon Peterson versus the Province of Oulu, Mister Peterson pleads not guilty for treason, larceny, murder, accomplice to murder, arson, kidnapping, accomplice to kidnapping, extortion, perjury, and theft.” Judge Achsah lowered the paper and looked to Cardon. “Quite the mound on your plate, Mister Peterson.”

 

“So I’ve been told, your honor,” He responded, abnormally quiet. Cardon gave a small nod, but didn’t make eye contact with the judge. 

 

“As most know, Mister Peterson is considered a super human, but that cannot influence this trial and I hope that can be looked past while judging this man,” The Judge indirectly addressed the jury, but Sachi seemed to be the only person to nod. “Then let us begin.”

 

“Doctor Kemmerich,” Judge Achsah looked to the prosecutor. “You have ninety seconds to make your case.”

 

The man in the navy suit stood. “Your honor,” He addressed with an overdone humbleness. “While this super may deceive all of us now without using his powers, but we cannot overlook the fact that he would use his powers to manipulate us, just as all supers do. Yes, this  _ thing _ may have conspired with the infamous Frieda Perime, but what is true crime is is that against Sergeant General Ellenor Marie. Beloved war hero, stripped of everything in a heartbeat, defending the President of France from a super, then had all of her inheritance stolen by this super.” The prosecutor, Kemmerich, pointed directly at Cardon. “If there is a greater felony, then I need to go back to law school. Evidence proves what it’s done and there is no argument that can convince me otherwise, it is just that it is properly punished.” With that, he took a seat. The crowd murmured at his passionate display, but the Judge had no expression on her face.

 

“Mister Fleir,” Judge Achsah looked to him. “Your defense.”

 

“Madam,” The man in the light tan suit stood this time. “My client, Cardon Leon Peterson, has been accused of many things, simply based on his being a super human. While Mister Peterson did have interactions with Miss Perime, he never met the alleged General, Ellenor Marie. There are reports of sightings of the group that Miss Perime travels with, the members of which have nearly all been identified. Of these reports, Mister Peterson is never mentioned. There is no solid evidence to support the idea that this man ever met Frieda Perime after she went rogue. Many interactions may have taken place in which Mister Peterson could have committed the acts he has been accused of, but the timeline does not line up with the dates that Mister Peterson has found himself complicated in. Like you said, Judge Achsah, we should look past the fact that Cardon Peterson is a super and instead look at the facts present that prove his innocence.” The Judge only quirked an eyebrow, but the audience was getting louder and louder.

 

Sachi’s own mind was in panic and he tried his best to not let it show. Most of them had been identified? How many? Who? How? Were they too reckless? Did they know who he was? Did everyone know that he was a super?

 

Sachi zoned in, listening to Candy’s panic as well. While the sand poured into the glass, the glass was banging against the ground, causing the sand to fly out or slip off the side. He focused on that while everyone else’s sounds were that of judgement. Except for one. There was the sound of the mouse again. It was squeaking and whimpering in fear and panic just as his own. Avoiding looking around the stand, Sachi tried to decipher who was the source of the mouse-like sounds. Why would they freak out if there was no correlation? They had to be someone.

 

“Doctor Kemmerich,” Judge Achsah addressed again. “What have you prepared?” 

 

The man stood again, opening a folder that sat upon the table. “February twenty-first,” There was a breakout from the highly secure prison, holding supers, Vandreadi, was completely and entirely shut down. The super, Cardon Peterson was in holding in the cell directly behind Frieda Perime!” The Doctor pointed at the super in question. The bearded man had no expression. “Once she used her power, the woman deactivated every security measure the facility had to offer. Afterwards, she escaped in a few minutes, in a prison she had no way of understanding. She had only been inside for meer hours before she escaped. She had to have someone guiding her. I call to the witness stand Officer Chelsey Brown!” Then, a chubby woman approached from the audience.

 

The woman sat on the witness stand as the man interrogated her about that day. She would hesitate as though she was trying to remember, but would make up tiny snippets at a time about the things that happened. It was obvious that the man was asking her specific questions and she was giving the answers he was looking for. 

 

But when Mister Fleir stood up to question the witness, the mood shifted dramatically. There was a rehearsed feeling to the previous questioning that didn’t match the way Mister Fleir spoke. He addressed how no other guards survived, how many supers were present, and how Officer Chelsey Brown was in fact hiding during the whole ordeal.

 

The Judge called that the questioning was over and that there was enough questioning and badgering of the witness.

 

“So, Mister Peterson was in fact there,” Judge Achsah pinched her nose. “Whether or not he accompanied Frieda Perime is inconclusive.”

 

Sachi glanced to the other jury members. Sitting in front, the man wrote, but Sachi could only make out a few words.  _ Accomplice to Rogue Medic. _ He cringed, worried that that man would be hard to be emotionally swayed. 

 

The trial went on and on, offense, defense, offense, defense, but it meant nothing. No matter what, the crowd spoke more of when Cardon was accused than when they did when Mister Fleir defended him. 

 

“This court is adjourned to a brief recess,” Judge Achsah announced after the third witness. The benches were emptied except for a few reporters wishing to catch the judge. Sachi went down the stand, out towards the audience sitting room, where a few stood at the small oak gate that separated them from the Judge who they desperately wanted to speak to. Among them was Sachi’s only source of sanity, Candy. 

 

Sachi reached for the small lever that closed the gate, opening it. From there, the reporters rushed to the front of the courtroom. Sachi looked over his shoulder as he saw Candy purposefully trip onto the prosecutor's desk, flailing on his papers. Sachi quickly retreated out of the courtroom towards the bathrooms before he could be reprimanded.

 

Outside the room, even more reporters were swarming. He hoped his friends blessed him enough to not let any of the reporters approach him.

 

Luckily, he returned to the jury box long before recess was called to end.

 

“Mister Virtanen,” Judge Achsah called out his fake name. He cringed into himself, looking up to her on the stand. He looked at her, unable to hide his shame. “Do be more careful with the media.”

 

“U-Understood,” He nodded, perhaps a little too fast.

 

“Good.”    
  


A new level of fear instilled itself into Sachi as the Judge spoke to him in such a condescending manner. 

 

“Supers aren’t human,” The man next to Sachi spoke to the one who was making the drawings. “It’s unnatural. They’re freaks of nature.”

 

“What are you talking about?” The other man spoke. “Of course they’re humans. They're super humans. It has human in the name.”

 

The man scoffed. “Last I checked, humans couldn't fly.”

 

“I've never heard of a flying super,” The man said flatly.

 

“Well I'm sure there is one,” The man huffed, crossing his arms, and the conversation was over.

 

With the two of them quiet, Sachi could tune into the conversation shared between the Bailiff and the judge.

 

“Can he speak?” The Bailiff asked.

 

“I'm sure he can, but he speaks differently with his power.” Judge Achsah glanced to the door where Cardon had been escorted to the back. “He's just odd.”

 

“What is his power exactly?” The Bailiff wondered aloud.

 

“No one knows, he hasn't told anyone yet,” The Judge leaned on her hand. “I guess it gives him an edge against us.”

 

“Thanks what most supers do, though,” The Bailiff continued. “They try to scare you by making you assume the worst. We just assume they're all powerful.”

 

“I fear Doctor Kemmerich will have to be excused for his presumptuous behavior,” The Judge warned.

 

“It doesn't matter,” The Bailiff dropped to whisper. “We all know how this will end.”

 

The trial picked up after the recess and fire seemed to be spit harder and harder onto Cardon. Though the bearded man had no visible reactions, the blows he took were undeniable. Sachi wished to read his emotions through the sounds he made from his mind, but the pinned dampener on his chest prevented such a thing. 

 

Doctor Kemmerich picked up, leaving behind the accusations he had been making and getting into harder facts. He had documents of all the transactions the man had made out of Ellenor's account, despite it only being a few hundred thousand dollars. He the audience let out a collective appalled gasp. The prosecutor then provided images of Cardon in the bank where he got money out of Ellenor’s account.

 

It was what Cardon confessed to. Mister Fleir explained that Cardon had threatened Frieda, making her give the information he needed to get the money. Yet, none of the dates were mentioned, nor was what he threatened her with. 

 

The memories of Frieda and Ellenor’s bruised faces haunted Sachi. It was the first time he hadn’t seen them as invincible. Then, Cardon was shoving and pushing them after it was the first time Sachi had seen them in years. How could he ruin that moment? 

 

Sachi felt genuine anger towards the man. It was something he had been thinking the entire time after Cardon entered the room. Would Sachi still help him?

 

It hurt. It hurt so much to remember the images of him looking so happy, but his words threatening and stabbing into everyone. But Cardon was a super. A super on trial was destined to fail. This wasn’t for him. This was for all of super humankind. 

 

Then, the jury was addressed. “The jury is dismissed to make a final call,” Judge Achsah told them with an irritated undertone. “Make your decision in the hour to avoid continuing this tomorrow.”

 

It was the moment of truth.

 

The first row of the jury exited in front of Sachi. As they walked past Sachi, he could make out their sounds as they walked closer, got louder, and then faded. He quickly tuned in to attempt to identify and remember them. 

 

The scribbling man was the plastic bag, the first woman was the grinding salt, the second was the skin scratching, the dirty nail man was the vacuum cleaner, the nervous woman was the mouse. 

 

Sachi was so focused that he didn’t realize the others in his row were waiting for him to go. He stumbled with a rush, following the other jury members out the door to the right side of the judge. He could hear behind him, the man that was previously sitting next to him sounded of food sizzling on metal.

 

Before exiting the courtroom, Sachi glanced over his shoulder, hoping to see Candy as some sort of comfort, but he was a bit late. He left the marble courtroom into the back where the floor was instead lined with a deep grey carpet. It was much more pleasurable there since the hall didn’t echo like the other. He enjoyed the sound for a brief while, allowing the sounds caused by his power become white noise. The near silence was soothing in comparison to the high stakes in the courtroom.

 

It didn’t last long, however. For when the group turned the corner, they entered a room with no windows except for the one on the door. The room was filled nearly to the brim with a single massive table of an oval shape. It was wood grain, but laminate feeling upon the touch. Surrounding it were twelve chairs, exactly enough for them. The walls and carpet were the same as the hallway that led them there only that there were far fewer portraits and pictures lining the wall. In fact, there was nothing on any of the walls.

 

Two of the men took the foot and head of the table, leaving the rest of them to fill in the gaps on the sides of the rose-wood table. Sachi found himself placed between the nervous woman and the scrawling man. The one that he was most capable of convincing and the least.

 

“Should we introduce ourselves or something?” Sachi asked the man next to him quietly. 

 

The man sneered at him, much louder than he had spoken, “You heard the judge, let’s get this over with.” 

 

“There’s no denying what he confessed to and Doctor Kemmerich provided evidence to,” The man who was sketching charactictures started. “So, I believe that is off the table when it comes to his innocence.” 

 

“Hey, we’re all human here,” The rude man interjected. “You don’t have to act like that thing out there is one of us.”

 

The squeaking got violently scared as well as Sachi’s own heart beating incredibly loud in his ears.

 

The sketching man ignored him continuing, “That’s extortion, perjury, and theft.”

 

“Perjury?” One of the women spoke up. “How’d he do that?”

 

The scrawling man glowered, “He stole Ellenor Marie’s signature and used it to make withdrawals. Weren’t you paying attention.”

 

“Right,” The woman looked away.

 

“But let’s talk about what we’re truly here for,” The sketching man kept them on track. “Was he an accomplice to Frieda Perime?” There was a collective groaning through the room at the mention of her name, Sachi’s trusted leader’s name. 

 

“He was there at the break out,” The woman that sounded of skin scratching spoke. “But he was on the complete other side of the building.”

 

“But his cell was adjoined to hers,” The sketching man said.

 

“Yes,” The woman contemplated for a brief moment. “But from the backside. There was no way for them to interact. If he had fled immediately, he would have gotten out much earlier than the rogue medic, and we know he did, since the boat he stole sailed off at five o’clock, four minutes after the shut down, and she was attacked by other supers.”

 

“God bless them,” The rude man commented.

 

The woman went on, “He probably had no idea what was going on in the first place anyway. How could he have known anything when that prison isolates all the supers from the outside world?” Sachi’s eyes lit up at her question. He could feel is in her scratching sound. It was hesitant, somber, with less nails and more finger pads. Sachi leached on to those emotions, pulling out the guilt woven within. “He must have been so frightened when all the supers were attacking each other and yet we still blame him. Frieda did it all herself, after all, didn’t she? What right do we have to blame him? He’s just a man trying to survive prison, but we make him the bad guy.” The woman sniffled. “Excuse me.” She wiped at her eyes and nose.

 

“Well, how about treason?” The sketching man wrote something down. “Did he truly act wrongfully against the government?”

 

“Stealing from a two star general,” The tired man spoke. “I don’t know if it gets much worse than that.” Sachi didn’t need to have a audible trigger to know that this man was hesitant of his words. He latched onto the man’s emotions and pulled with all his might. “Then again,” The man lowered his head, the sound of adhesive splitting got louder and louder, confirming Sachi had picked the right noise of his. “Who could blame him? The world is set out against supers, not allowing them for any financial opportunities, let alone any basic rights. The economy is bad as is and then this man has no way of getting paid, so he has to steal. She might have been the only person he even knew of that had stable income…” Sachi let go before the man started crying like the woman.

 

“Onto kidnapping,” The sketching man sounded confused.

 

“He didn’t kidnap anybody!” The mousy woman exclaimed. The room looked to her, surprised she could speak after her silence. “That doesn’t make any sense…” She looked down at her fists in her lap. “And neither did Frieda Perime. No matter what they say, those other drag queens were travelling with him voluntarily.”

 

“What do you mean?” The sketching man asked.

 

“They were a show, before the Alti-war,” The mousy girl explained. “A drag show that used super powers as a gimmick, they were all friends too. I’m sure they all helped each other.”

 

“Wait,” The scratching skin woman said. “That could be true. He took the money from Sergeant General Marie’s account, but the receipts afterwards don’t add up…”

 

Another woman spoke, Sachi identified her as the sound of leaves rustling. “That’s right! He would have been sharing the money with the other drag queens. Even if they didn’t want to help him, they might have because they were being paid.”

 

The sketching man nodded in agreement as he wrote more down.  “I think it’s time we cast a vote,” He spoke to the group. “I’m getting hungry.” A few around the room agreed. Sachi’s heart stopped. He wasn’t ready. He hadn’t pulled on everyone’s emotions yet. He didn’t know what everyone thought yet. “Is Cardon Peterson guilty of extortion, theft, and perjury?” There was a resounding yes that Sachi had no choice but to agree to. Sachi started to go around in his head, grabbing and tugging desperately at the emotions he felt from the other people. He tried so hard to go one by one, but his power was waning as he only got tired at the grabbing and letting go. His eyes started to well with tears as he realized he wouldn’t be able to get them all to understand what it meant to be a super, what troubles they faced, how this trial was biased, how he was terrified to be in public, how Cardon must have been abused, how wrong they were treated. He was a super! He had to save them!

 

Then, something inside Sachi snapped.

 

A barrier that had been holding him back from the very beginning. Not the beginning of the trial, but the beginning of his power entirely. He was just a simple young man, trying to get people to feel guilty. But he didn’t need guilt anymore, like the Selenian army had taught him. He needed, empathy, compassion, sympathy, love. And not from just one of the jurors, not the judge, not the audience, everyone. 

 

Once before, Sachi’s mind was a small force that had to pull with every fiber in his body to influence someone’s emotions. But as this barrier shattered with his desperation, he could feel his own mind become an untameable force, bigger than any sounds he had ever heard. With that force, he reached out, not to one of the people in the room, but to all of them, reaching inside each of their minds at the same time to pull and pull and break their own barriers they had set. They were forced to not sympathize with supers simply because of society, but Sachi could make them realize. With a single tug, their barriers broke, and their sympathy, their compassion, their love was free.

 

Sachi looked around the room. Everyone looked to be in awe as they looked to each other. It seemed to have the same effect as all of their emotions sang in the same place with Sachi’s help. 

 

One woman, with her mouth agape, simply let tears flow down her cheeks. Next to her the tired man, now wide awake, smiled a beautiful smile that sparkled in his eyes. Beside Sachi, the scrawling man dropped his pencil as his hands shook. Tears striped his cheeks as well. And at the head of the table, the sketching man closed his eyes, allowing tears to fall, and once he did, he smiled with some sort of relief. Sachi wiped his own eyes with pure joy.

 

“Let’s give our answer,” The sketching man stood.

 

When walking out of the room, back down the hall, there was a distinct difference in gait between all of the jurors. The walked closer to each other. Spoke, soft, but not quietly, to each other. All of it felt so right.

 

Judge Achsah seemed surprised that they were back so quickly. She made a comment, but the jury members were too busy smiling at one another to answer.

 

“What is the jury’s verdict?” Judge Achsah asked when the jury members sat down formally and the sketching man stood alone, but with all of them.

 

“We find the defendant, Cardon Peterson, guilty on accounts of extortion, perjury, and theft,” The man announced with defined confidence. “And not guilty on accounts of  treason, larceny, murder, accomplice to murder, arson, kidnapping, and accomplice to kidnapping.” 

 

Almost immediately, the crowd started booing viciously. Judge Achsah picked up a gavel and started to beat it, but a voice recorder went flying out of the audience, hitting the tired man on the side of the head.

 

The jury stood quickly, worried about him, but they quickly helped him to the other side of the jury box, to let him out. It started to click to everyone in the front of the courtroom that it was the best option to evacuate before they were further attacked.

 

Through the two doors on either side of the judge’s stand, they escaped, locking the doors behind them. Directly afterwards, the doors started to bulge as they were banged against on the other side.

 

“Let’s get out of here,” The Bailiff grabbed the judge’s forearm gently, leading her deeper into the courthouse. The others followed suit, since the burly man knew where he was going.

 

A neon green sign lit up, displaying ‘EXIT,’ pointing outwards just in front of them. While there was no way the angered crowd behind them could bust through the bolted door, there was still fear in all of them.

 

Through the door, held open by the Bailiff, Sachi exited with everyone into the alley on the side of the courthouse. It was strange it see a wall of bricks next to the brilliant white of the courthouse.

 

Once outside, the Bailiff shut the door behind everyone, securing it into place. He breathed out, slumping his shoulders forward. “What happened in there?” He moved towards Doctor Kemmerich. “You said the super would lose!”

 

“Well, of course I thought it would lose!” The doctor shouted right back. 

 

Sachi started to move away, scared of the noises the the two men made at each other.

 

“Hey,” The sketching man approached him. A few jurors looked at him too as he spoke. “What’s your name?” Up close, Sachi could admire the man's bright blue eyes that complimented his dark skin. His jawline, cheekbones, and deep brow made him undeniably handsome.

 

Sachi cocked his head, for a moment, forgetting he was posing as someone else. “Sachi… Sachihiro.”

 

“I’m thinking we could all hang out later…” He gestured towards the other jury members. “Would you be okay with that?”

 

Sachi smiled. “I’d like that.”

 

“My car isn’t starting!” One of the officers shouted to the other. Sachi was thrown out of his conversation and into another one. He looked down the narrow alley to where one cop stood outside the driver side door and the other was half way out of the alley.

 

“What do you mean it’s not starting?” The other shouted back.

 

“It’s not starting!” 

 

Then there was a honking sound, coming from the other end of the alley. Sachi whipped around to see the headlights of a bright rounded police car. From the inside, Ellenor poked her capped head out. “Need a lift?”

 

Ellenor exited the car from the passenger side, approaching the others with a casual gait that Sachi would have believed if he didn’t know her true identity. She was dressed just like the other officers, but her outfit was made of blue with a more feminine cut to it. The hat she wore had a tight shiny black bill to it with a blue mushroom top with her hair tucked into it. She adjusted her pants up since the belt she wore tugged them down with the weight of several weapons and other gear.

 

“Thank goodness,” The one there said relieved. “Got room for two?”

 

“Absolutely.” Ellenor replied. With that, the man opened the back door of his car, releasing the bearded man from the back. The cuffs he wore made clicking noises, but he said no words 

 

Ellenor escorted the man back to the police car just as the jurors seperated and the Judge and Bailiff walked away, presumably towards their respective cars.

 

“Wait,” Sachi called out to Ellenor and the police officer that was then tucking Cardon into the backseat. “Ma’am, could you drive me around to my car by chance? I’m…”

 

“Scared are you?” Ellenor asked, perfectly mimicking the finnish accent.

 

“Yeah,” Sachi smiled.

 

“It will be cramped, but I think we can pull it off. Right, Lieutenant?” Ellenor addressed the officer. 

 

He simply laughed. “You’re such an optimist, newbie.”

 

“You sit up front with my partner, sir,” Ellenor offered to the man. “I’ll keep these jokesters under control.” She gestured at Cardon and Sachi in such a friendly manner. Sachi was amazed at her acting.

 

The Lieutenant got into the passenger seat, Sachi and Ellenor hopped in the back. “I parked just outside the parking garage on North Street,” Sachi told Ellenor as if she didn’t already know.

 

“Traffic is going to be a bitch right now,” Frieda commented from under her own hat. She too faked an accent, dropping her voice down a few pitches as well. The badge on her chest looked like it belonged there perfectly. Somehow, Ellenor and Frieda were perfect police officers in a country they weren't from. 

 

“I’m glad I’m not driving,” The Lieutenant gave a hardy laugh.

 

Luckily, they got out of there faster than the rest of the courthouse, so no one was actually on the road. Sachi was thinking about how he would be able to drive before he clicked back into the situation, remembering that everything was faked.

 

Along the roads, they were stopped over and over by stop lights that started to become distorted by raindrops falling on the windshield. Sachi glanced outward as the car turned onto North Street.

 

Sachi pointed out as he gasped. “That's mine,” He got excited when he saw Candy standing by the low emerald car. He smiled to be with her again and to thank her for keeping his sanity. She covered her head with a white binder and her voice recorder. 

 

Ellenor tapped Sachi's shoulder. When he turned around, she held out the keys for him to take while holding a finger to her lips. 

 

“Wait,” The Lieutenant squinted at the car. “That's that reporter we had to kick out! And didn't you let her in?” The Lieutenant turned around, his teeth showing right at Sachi. 

 

Without missing a beat, Frieda shoved her hand into the joint between the Lieutenant's neck and shoulder. Sachi jumped when his body jolted with electricity.

 

“They kicked Candy out?” Frieda dropped her accent to address Sachi. “What happened?” She sounded genuinely worried, not just about their cover, but the well-being of them.

 

“She trashed the stuff on Doctor Kemmerich's desk, so I guess she got kicked out and I got scolded. But I didn't know she got expelled.. or whatever.”

 

Ellenor whipped the hat off of her head, dropping the cap to her lap as her hair fell out. The third eye opened wide, staring at Cardon as Ellenor cocked her head at him while squinting.

 

“Do I know you?” The French woman asked him.

 

And for a brief moment, Cardon squinted back at he. The creases in his face were deeply defined, but they became wide.

 

Barely speaking, he said, “No. Fucking. Way.”

 

Frieda gasped when she looked at him, slamming on the break. “You?!” Her voice shrieked through the car.

 

He gaped at her for a moment. Only to flip a switch and turn to a wicked smile. Barely whispering, he said maliciously, “Did you miss me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy FUCK this is the longest chapter I've ever done. Yep. This is a doozy. I hope I didn't lose you with anything.


	193. Asleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Make him pay.

__

Frieda  _ commanded _ Ellenor to instead ride with Candy and Sachi instead of in the police car with her with zero explanation. She was shoved out of the backseat with vigor when Frieda opened the door to let her and Sachi out, just as the rain started to pour down on them, and the cars from the members of trial started to take to the streets.

 

The woman dressed as a faux police officer took off fast, hoping to get to the checkpoint they had set up for the other supers who weren’t involved in order to change cars as quickly as possible. At the rate at which everything was going  downhill, she wouldn’t be surprised if she was apprehended in the hour.

 

Outside, Sachi quickly pressed down on the button to unlock the car over and over to guarantee the doors opening. Candy climbed into the driver’s seat like her life depended on it. Just after she did, the rain got heavier and heavier. Ellenor leapt to the nearest door, apologetic that she had taken it from Sachi in the process.

 

Sachi himself took the extra step to get to the passenger door, hopping in and slamming it just before a car whizzed past them. Just like that, the streets were suddenly packed with cars, but Frieda in the police car had already buzzed away. 

 

“Let’s get out of here,” Ellenor told them from the back. She was undressing herself from the uniform Frieda had stolen for her to dress in. It was dangerous to be seen like this. “I didn’t bring an extra hat.”

 

Candy wiped her soaked hair back, some of the still bright color coming off in her hand. She looked at it mourning. She didn’t dwell on it though. She joined Ellenor in taking off the restricting clothing. 

 

When she threw her jacket into the backseat, Sachi discarded his tie with it. Candy looked at him, surprised at how blank his face was. She stared for a moment before he gasped out a breath he was holding. 

 

“What have we done?” He looked to Candy, his eyebrows upturned. Candy knew that Sachi had seen much more of Cardon than she had, but they had all heard the yelling from the basement back at the farm. “He’s with us now. We have to deal with him. There’s nothing we can do.”

 

Candy covered her eyes. “We helped him.” 

 

“What’s going on?” Ellenor called from the backseat. She leaned forwards to be in the center console. “What am I missing?”

 

Sachi turned to her. “The super,” He started, looking to her various eyes. “That’s Cardon.”

 

She squinted at him more. Why did that name sound so familiar to her? Meanwhile, the eye was screeching at her, trying to make her realize something.

 

“He blackmailed us,” Candy shook her head. “He cut your neck, beat Frieda, threatened to kill all of us.”

 

Sachi gasped. The girls looked to him as the rain boomed outside. “And we just left him alone with Frieda.”

 

Already across town, Frieda gained ground with her foot slammed on the gas pedal. Her hands were clenched tight on the wheel that controlled the vehicle.

 

“I honestly can’t believe it,” She could barely hear Cardon as he spoke, but his voice still made her stomach turn. “How many months has it been? Never once did I ever think I’d see you again. Did you really need me that badly?”

 

“I don’t think you realize who’s in control here,” Frieda snarled at him, her foot pushing the pedal down deeper. “With that dampener on, you’re nothing against me.”

 

“You sound just like them,” Cardon commented. “‘That super is nothing without its power.’”

 

“What are you expecting? Huh?” Frieda gritted her teeth. “You have nothing against me like you did before.”

 

“Ah, yes,” Cardon sounded almost fond, nostalgic, of the times Frieda struggled to keep her wife alive. “I had nearly forgot what I had said to you. What was it? ‘You’ll be lucky to not lose a wife,’ or something?”

 

“‘Hopefully you won’t lose as many friends as you’ve lost wives,’ that’s what you said, that’s what you said to me,” Frieda’s nose twitched, “I wish I could forget.”

 

“Well, now I’ll be here to remind you.”

 

The rendezvous point that they had set up was a half hour drive from the courthouse, but the way Frieda was driving, she was nearly there. She couldn’t go there yet, however, there was a business she had to take care of that she had been wanting to for months. 

 

Just outside the city, heading into the suburbs, Frieda turned off onto a gravel driveway that led to a house with overgrown brambles consuming it. She drove as far back as possible, off the driveway and into the yard. The various bushes and weeds scraped at the car, blinding Frieda from seeing out the bottom half of the windshield.

 

Once hidden around the back side of the house, Frieda slammed the door of the car that wasn’t hers. She huffed as she tore through the weeds to get to the other side. When she opened the front passenger side door, the Lieutenant slumped out at her. She tried her best to catch him, but he was bulky with a huge protective vest on. He instead fell to the ground, nearly lost to the plant life there.

 

Frieda used her adrenaline that was pumping through her from her anger to drag the man by the shoulders further away from the road that got them there. It was a struggle to do, she had to admit. She hadn’t been thinking ahead when she had left herself all alone with Cardon, but she could handle two beefy men no problem.

 

When she decided the officer was far enough away from the car, Frieda followed the path through the tall grass she had made with his body back towards the car. Her rage started to build up again when she saw Cardon through the window. She picked up her pace to get to his seat.

 

She reached for the door handle, her lip curled up and her nose twitching. For a brief second, she hesitated, remembering how Ellenor never lost her cool around Kieren, or the Marshall. And in that same second, she determined that this was beyond the same parameters.

 

With an excessive amount of force, Frieda swung the door open.

 

There, Cardon whispered at her, “You should have let me help you, I’m stronger than I look.”

 

Frieda glared at him for a moment, but upon squinting at him, she realized what he meant. Cardon, who she was once so sure of it being him, looked incredibly different. His cheeks were sunken in, the color lost in his skin, his bones jutting out at the joints.

 

“What happened to you?” Frieda glared at him.

 

Cardon smiled. “What happens to every super. Seems a lot has happened to you too.” He looked her up and down. “Or do you just force yourself into situations?” He stopped his observing at the small, still healing scrape she had received on her cheek from Mavis slamming her head down on a counter.

 

“We risked lives to save you,” Frieda snarled, forcing his attention away from the mark. 

 

“I didn’t say I’m not grateful,” Cardon shrugged, but quickly turned to an awful smirk. “I’m also grateful for all the money your wife provided. Never did I think it would be  _ you _ that had all the cash.”

 

With that, Frieda snapped. She grabbed both his wrists, along with a shoulder, pulling him hard out of the car. She sidestepped, allowing him to fall to the ground. He looked startled for a moment, but gathered himself in disgust as weeds tangled around him. Frieda craned her head up to look down at him as he glared daggers at her.

 

“You’ll pay for what you did to Ellenor!” Frieda shouted, her voice breaking in the process.

 

“Hey, don’t blame me,” Cardon smiled a sickening smile again. “It was Liza that kept her asleep.” Frieda’s stomach dropped. 

 

For nearly two weeks, her wife had been in a stage ten coma. The only sign that she was living was a grotesque eye upon her head. Frieda had no way to know if she was healing from her broken legs or dying of infection. Frieda sobbed every extra night that Ellenor wasn’t awake. And it meant nothing. It was the work of a super powered drag queen, the one that she had allowed to carry Ellenor the entire time. She had never even considered that it might be foul play. Yet, she trusted them. Well, not again, not ever again.

 

With all her might and gravity on her side, Frieda slammed her hand down onto Cardon’s withered cheeks. She wanted to scream at him, but there were no words that could define how she felt. Weeks of preparing to mourn for her wife’s death, weeks of raw emotion consuming her, weeks of fear of the unknown.

 

She hit him, again, again, and again, but it was nothing. It meant nothing. A few punches were nothing in comparison to what he’d done to her, her wife, her family, her life.

 

She raised both her fists, clasped together, high above her head, sending the electricity inside her into her hands, charging them with everything within.

 

But before she could bring them down, a stabbing pain shot through her hands. She froze as more electricity was pushed into her body through same source as the stabbing pain. 

 

Slowly, Frieda turned around, looking to see the lieutenant still holding the taser gun trigger down. It was a shame he thought it would take her down.

 

Frieda flicked her wrist to get on top of the wires and shot the same current right back through to the Lieutenant. It shocked him for a moment, but he quickly dropped the gun that connected them. Frieda charged at him as he reached for his radio. She sprung on him just before he clicked the button, gripping his wrists with her crackling and popping hands. 

 

He spasmed for a moment, but Frieda quickly let him go. She breathed hard above him, genuinely shocked and scared that she hadn’t noticed him until it was too late.

 

Under her own rasping breath, she could hear Cardon whispering behind her. She couldn’t make out any words from the man.

 

“Can’t you speak up?” Frieda squinted at him. He wore a smile as he sat on the ground with a reddened face. “I can’t hear you.”

 

His smile fell. “What?” He frowned down at his hands as he started to speak more. She could see his lips moving, but he wasn’t making any noise. As she moved closer, she started to understand what he was saying. “Did they take my powers?” He asked. “Why isn’t it working?” 

 

“It’s the dampener,” Frieda pointed to the device on his chest. “Makes powers stop. I don’t know how.”

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be some kind of miraculous engineer? Figure it out!” His anger and frustration was apparent despite his voice being so low. 

 

Frieda looked down at him. “I think it’s the only leverage I have against you right now.” She slouched her shoulders. “Let’s get out of here before he gets up again.”

 

Cardon narrowed his eyes. “You’re taking me with you?”

 

Frieda sighed, “For now.”

 

At the rendezvous, all the engines of the cars still ran, ready to take off at any given time. Though Frieda had left before Ellenor, Sachi, and Candy, she still wasn’t there yet. Just outside of town, they waited around with each other for the final part of their group. It was a small clearing that was hidden between the crossroads where one orchard of pine met with a field of hanging grapes. 

 

Ellenor stood nervously, trying to focus on something else other than their disadvantages. For starters, they were down to a meer four cars. The moving truck, the low emerald car, the truck with the lions, and a SUV. Five if the police car Frieda was in was counted, but they planned to discard of it as soon as possible.

 

Not to mention they were running low on money. They couldn’t eat many more meals without Candy’s assistance in making the food more substantial. It would simply make it easier to have to eat less and less with her power. They didn’t need to make more public appearances than necessary.

 

That fact hit Ellenor. They shouldn’t be seen in public, that was a fact. But Ellenor’s visions said otherwise. She craved the light for all of the supers in the group to be seen in. For a moment, she saw the circus on the horizon, but it had disappeared along with all hopes she had.

 

She no longer knew which visions to trust. She had seen Cardon in her head, but it was so blurry and confusing that she didn’t understand. Candy and Sachi tried to explain who he was, but that didn’t give her any answers. How did they meet him? Who was he? How did Ellenor know him? She didn’t know him. Questions buzzed in her mind, but the eye remained quiet. 

 

“Why aren’t you answering me?” She attempted to ask it without being heard by anyone else. “What did I do wrong?”

 

It finally said something, “You have to become a proper leader before you can be a ringleader.”

 

And it was a stab to the heart. Ellenor had made mistakes and kept making mistakes and didn’t know where to go or what to do. She was an awful leader. She was an ignorant believer.

 

“Please,” Ellenor shut her eyes. “What are we going to do?” There was no reply.

 

“There they are,” Eryk said, walking up to her side. “We should get going.”

 

“No,” Ellenor stood, staring at the approaching vehicle. “I want to be with her.”

 

“I doubt you should be around Cardon,” Eryk turned around. “No one should.”

 

“I need to talk to him.” Ellenor took a step closer to the car. “I have to know him.”

 

“Ellenor,” Eryk touched her shoulder. “Some people aren’t worth saving.”

 

She pushed him away, going towards the road. “ _ Everyone  _ is worth saving.”

 

Ellenor walked away, heading for the car that held Isamu, Kieren, and Camelia. The one untouchable by powers, and the two who could easily subdue anyone. She would go with them. It didn’t matter how many precautions they planned to take. She would know what happened.

 

Camelia saw her and almost immediately hopped out to let her in. Ellenor graciously smiled at her. She was a sweet girl, but Frieda distrusted her ever since what happened with Mavis. Frieda was constantly assuming that of others that Ellenor had barely ever met.

 

Ellenor sat between Isamu and Camelia, with Kieren in the driver’s seat, tightly holding her hands in her lap. Was there anyone that Frieda let Ellenor near that she didn’t trust? Ellenor sighed. No matter what, Frieda was still babying her.

 

The other cars took off as soon as the police car stopped next to the massive trees. Leaving the emerald car for Cardon and Frieda.

 

Both still in uniform, Frieda and Cardon approached, with Frieda escorting him in cuffs. She opened the door to the passenger seat, letting Cardon climb into the middle, between her and Kieren, as she entered to sit on the faux leather seat.

 

“Why are you here?” Frieda asked Ellenor, sounding exhausted.

 

“I want to know what happened,” Ellenor started.

 

“I can tell--”

 

“From him,” She pointed a finger directly at Cardon.

 

With his eyebrows upturned he turned to see Ellenor, looking at him with an uncertain determination. The look she gave him seemed to instill something into him. He smiled back at her with a look that sang of pride. 

 

“We finally meet, Sergeant General Marie,” When he spoke, he whispered, but that didn’t sway Ellenor’s need for conquest. “I’m Cardon Jay Peterson.”

 

And like that, the flood gates opened and the eye showed her all that he had ever done, all he was doing, and all that he would do.


	194. Waning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The moon tells the truth.

For the first time in a while, Lolias wasn’t alone in the back of the moving truck. Tadaaki, Sachi, Candy, July, and Xander all road in the back with him. It was overcrowded, and hard to rest with so many people around him. Before, he thought that it was being alone that was making him upset, but then, surrounded by people, he still felt the constant dread that consumed him.

 

The convoy had stopped for the night. Most everyone was tired from the long day and the changing weather, so it was fine to rest for a while. It was only that Lolias wasn’t tired at all. With his being trapped in the back of the trailer, he didn’t have much to do other than sleep. He had already had his fair share of who knows how many hours, there was no way to count them.

 

He was miserable. Beyond miserable. He hated the way he smelled, the way his mouth tasted, the way his life was crumbling apart. Be with your best friend again, Lolias remembered being so excited to move to France when his power started to appear. He had rarely seen Ellenor since that day. She’d gone off and gotten her own power, shot, married, and whatever other things she had done since she hadn’t told him anything.

 

Lolias sighed. Perhaps he could sneak out, find some large body of water, get some form of clean. Surely that would clear his head. If it didn’t clear his head, it would at least clear the oil out of his hair. 

 

Gently, Lolias moved into a crawling position. It made the entire trailer creak under his weight. His shoulders slumped when he remembered his size. He didn’t bother to glance around to see if anyone stirred. He didn’t care. However, he still moved carefully, avoiding bumping into anyone to the best of his ability. Luckily, most of them avoided sitting around the center to allow his legs to be extended, leaving a path for him to take.

 

As quietly as he could manage, Lolias unlatched the trailer door, however unsuccessfully. The door clanked loudly as the door swung out of place. There was a brief moment when he considered to check if it had woke any of the other supers, but he remembered all the times his own slumber had been interrupted due to someone barging in.

 

Once outside, Lolias attempted to close it back up, but his hands were too large to grab the handle. He decided to leave it half open since he knew he’d be back before the night was over.

 

He started to turn to maybe look for some lake or creak or anything, but he stopped short with a gasp. There, not even ten meters away, was Isamu. Isamu who he hadn’t seen in what felt like weeks. He started to smile at the smaller man, but his mind wouldn’t let him forget the hollowness that was building up all over again. 

“I was just coming to see you,” Isamu whispered to him as he approached.

 

“I was going to take a shower,” Lolias stated flatly. Isamu laughed at that. His laugh made a warmth fill his near empty insides, but it didn’t last long. “I heard you tried to perform with him.” 

 

“And I heard you didn’t want to perform at all for that exact reason,” Isamu swung right back. “I think there’s a pond nearby.” Isamu glanced north-westward, towards the rising Pegasus constellation. “Let’s take a walk.” Isamu started to walk towards his own hand, but he paused. “Unless you want to be alone… I can go if you want.”

 

“No!” Lolias shook his hands in protest. “No… Let’s go.”

 

After a while, Lolias decided to stand to be able to walk. On either side of the road they walked on, there were massive orchards that produced insane amounts of trees. It looked like there were a few sections already being cut down from the smell and wood shavings that littered certain areas. Summer was already fleeting as the threes started to hint at yellow and orange. It wouldn’t have been noticeable if it weren’t for the brightly shining waning gibbous moon.

 

“It’s such a hot night,” Isamu said, turning around the corner of an orchard, leading Lolias deeper into a wooded area. “I never realized how much I’d like to swim.” Isamu paused, looking back at Lolias. He looked as though he was waiting for a reply, but Lolias had no words. “Are you going to talk to me?”

 

“Yeah,” Lolias finally answered, looking to the sky as he spoke. “They shoved a ton of people into the trailer and it gets really hot in there now.”

 

“No,” Isamu interjected. “Are you actually going to talk to me?” Lolias averted his eyes further away from Isamu, which was in itself difficult, and even more difficult to not vent to the other man. “Are you actually jealous?” 

 

“I guess I am,” Lolias held himself. “I don’t want to be though. I’ve been feeling that way a lot.”

 

“What way?” Isamu continued his walk for water as they spoke.

 

“Like I don’t want to feel the emotions I do.” Lolias wished to speak these words to Candy who was ever optimistic, but she occupied herself solely to July these days. He would have mentioned it to Ellenor if she would ever stay with him for more than five minutes. 

 

“Like what?” Isamu continued his questioning.

 

“Like… I feel so lonely even when I’m around people,” Lolias moved his arms to hug himself. “And I’ll be in one place, but I’ll be in another. Like…” He huffed as he struggled to put such things into words. “Like my body is there, but my mind is somewhere else.”

 

“That happens to me a lot,” Isamu commented, almost off-handedly. Just then he pointed forward. “There it is!” And sure enough, just inside the tree line, a small pond lay in the orchard. He jogged to it with a happy excitement. Before he even reached the water, he started peeling off his shoes and socks.

 

“Wait,” Lolias paused as he started to sit down at the edge of the small body. “What do you mean?”

 

Isamu shrugged. “It’s just easier to deal with Kieren that way. I’ll pretend to be somewhere else, or be someone else, or be something else just to deal with what’s going on. I think sometimes you have to pretend to be somewhere else to be okay with where you are.” Isamu looked up to Lolias with a big smile. “It was so easy to act that way with you around. When I was with you, it was like he didn’t even exist and I was just another person hanging out in the barn, you know?”

 

Lolias smiled, “I know.” He allowed the warmth of nostalgic times fill his breeding emptiness.

 

“Even so, when you weren’t there, all I had to do was remember I was protecting you and it was so simple.” At that point, Isamu had stripped down to his undergarments, ready to get into the water. “Ready?”

 

Lolias nodded. “Yeah.”

 

To their surprise, the water covered up to Lolias’s upper abdomen and when he sat in the middle, he struggled to keep his nose above the water. Isamu kneeled where he could scrub himself by the edge of the water. He seemed to spread moonlight directly onto himself as his skin glittered with wetness in the shining night. Lolias tried his best to keep his mouth shut as Isamu’s broad shoulders and rippled abs made him intoxicated. When Isamu took notice, he told Lolias he should really be doing his own washing.

 

Long after they were both as clean as pond water could make a person, they bathed in not only the glowing water, but each others’ beings. Lolias held Isamu just above the water as they looked to the constellations that were obscured by the overhanging branches of the orchard. Isamu’s body in Lolias’s hands made the world feel so small. He started to dread how the stars made him feel so insignificant despite the moment being so wonderful for him. He gently rubbed Isamu’s back and shoulders with his thumbs, imagining what it would be like to touch him with his old body. Would Isamu be taller than him? Could Isamu pick him up? How much of Isamu’s face could fit into his hand? They were thoughts that had been thought a thousand times already without answer.

 

“It’s getting harder,” Isamu said,resting against Lolias’s chest half submerged.

 

“What?” Lolias pushed back Isamu’s damp hair when he looked up.

 

“Pretending I’m with you,” Isamu’s comment made Lolias’s heart wrench. But it felt good. It was better than the numbness he had found himself trapped in. “It was so easy when I would see you everyday, but now, I barely even know what’s going through your head. I never knew how I could just focus on you and all the pain would just go away. But sometimes,” Isamu touched his chest tenderly, sending spikes of chills through Lolias’s body. “I can barely remember those sweet chestnut eyes you have.”

 

“I know how you feel,” Lolias admitted. He longed for the days where they could hang out in the barn touching each other endlessly, all to Kieren’s obliviousness, but those times were gone. Not only was Kieren hyper-aware of any step Isamu took, Lolias was trapped inside the trailer, never knowing when it was safe to be outside. “Sometimes, I forget that you have a new scar on your nose, lip, and ear.” Lolias tried to keep his eyes off of the wounds that Kieren left behind, but they were too obvious to avoid. Isamu instinctively covered his face where Lolias had indicated. “But hey, you know what they say about a guy with scars,” Lolias flipped his somber tone to flirt with Isamu. He laughed in response.

 

Together, they headed back towards the parked cars. They had barely spent any time together, but the sun threatened to threaten to breach the horizon and that was scary enough to make them retreat back through the wooded area.

 

“Lolias,” Isamu addressed them as they walked. “What do you want to do?”

 

Lolias frowned. “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean… Where would you rather be? What would you rather be doing?”

 

Lolias took a deep breath. “Right now, I wish I was home with my Gigi, sitting, waiting for her to serve breakfast, at the breakfast nook.” He glanced up towards the sky, knowing the constellations would be an entirely different set in Cuba. “What about you?”

 

“I’d like to travel the world,” Isamu then bitterly laughed. “I guess we are. I never thought I’d be in Finland, but I don’t know the first thing about this country. I haven’t seen any historical monuments or tried special cuisine. I’m just running, and hiding, and cheating, and lying.” Isamu took a moment to collect himself. “But, would your want be different if none of this had happened? If you weren’t a super, what would you want?” Lolias’s head short circuited at that. He dreamed about the day he magically woke up at was his true height again, what he’d do, where he’d go, who he’d tell everything to, but if nothing had happened, what would it bring to his future? “Before, I was going to be a psychologist,” Isamu explained further. “I was on my way to graduating college, but then I became a super. But if I hadn’t, what would I be doing? Would i still be bound to Kieren in some sick way, or would I be dead? Or would fate not go so easily on me?” 

 

Lolias started to disagree, but Isamu pushed on, “Do you remember when we met?” He asked, not expecting an answer. “Do you remember what you said to me?” The larger of the two men remained quiet. “You said, ‘you’re nothing to me.’ And I’m sure you don’t remember, but I’ll never forget those words. But when I think them, it’s not your mouth, your voice, or you saying them. In my mind, there are two completely different people, but I know it’s you.” Isamu clenched his hand tightly. “I guess what I’m trying to ask is…” Isamu looked ashamed of himself as he stared at the ground. “Would you still be that person if you hadn’t become a super”

 

With the stars rising to form Pegasus, the moon waning, and the sun threatening to ruin it all, Lolias knew the undeniable answer.

 

“Yes.”


	195. Uncomfortable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Voting can be difficult.

Cardon sat on the ground, crumpling the grass underneath his crossed legs as he fiddled with the metal rings still hanging off of his wrists. Ellenor had suggested that they remove them to be more humane, but Frieda demanded otherwise. Though, the dampener on his chest could easily be removed if he grabbed it himself, he made no such movement to do so. Ellenor had made sure that he knew what it was, but he still said nothing. He only spoke to them when he had some comment to make. Ellenor noticed when she spoke to him that he only mentioned facts, but went into detail when he was successful. Like when his fellow drag queens had abandoned him, it was glanced over, but when he spoke of all the fantastical things he bought, it was precise and intricate.

 

Next to him, Ellenor sat not that far away. She looked on at him, allowing the eye to fill in gaps that he had left in his story. Like how the only reason he was successful was Frieda using her powers, or how he had every intention of blackmailing them after he had used up all the money, or how no one believed him when he said he had met Ellenor. She continued to squint at him, as the information was fed in. 

 

“We shouldn’t keep him around,” July spoke from where she was standing. She and the other supers gathered around the small clearing in the middle of another one of the orchards that seemed to cover the eastern side of the country. She had thought long about Cardon ever since he had been wrongfully introduced into their group. She could feel the emotions that he caused everyone around her and knew that he would only bring sadness. Not only the emotional challenges, but they already had Kieren, why would they need another evil force consuming their lives?

 

“There’s enough to deal with already,” Tadaaki commented. He suffered every moment he saw his dearest friend Sachi upset. He wanted to get rid of Kieren long ago, adding Cardon was just another person he wished to eliminate from his life. Yet, something inside him said that they wouldn’t get rid of them, either of them. The group of supers was righteous and lawful, despite their constant breaking of laws. Leaving Cardon would mean to leave him to the rats, which Tadaaki wouldn’t mind that fate to happen to both of them.

 

“He could just blackmail us again,” Pete stared flatly at the bound man. Pete did his best to keep the children out of sight from the older man. When he thought about the future, he saw it with Cardon out of it. But he knew as soon as the man was gone, he would somehow send people after them. If he knew the names of the bare minimum of them, he at least could only tell of them. Pete always told the kids to hide their names and powers. While it saddened him to know that their real names were lost to the world, at least they would be safe.

 

“Remember when Kieren tried to leave us?” Candy asked. “Maybe we should let him and he can take him too.” Candy looked down at the man. She hadn’t been a part of the ordeal that was Cardon stealing from them, but she heard stories then and even more now. Sachi and July had been the first to approach and from there it went downhill. Sachi openly spoke about it, but July deliberately pushed it down to where Candy couldn’t gauge anything that happened from her. If it could hurt July that badly, Candy would make him pay.

 

“That’s out of the question,” Eryk spoke up. “Kieren and Isamu stay with us. I wouldn’t mind getting rid of the dirtbag, though.” Eryk remembered the fateful day that Frieda and Ellenor returned to the farm with great disdain. He had to carry Frieda’s limp body despite her being fully conscious. He watched when Tadaaki and Sachi had to carry the long other woman who was opposingly long past passed out. The visions of their battered faces haunted him to the day. As Eryk had his arms crossed he was more than prepared to use his power and jump on Cardo nat any given time. Back then in the basement, he hadn’t been ready at all and had foolishly let Jenn grab Cardon instead of knocking him out himself. 

 

Uncomfortably, Frieda stood with a handle against her back behind the crowd that had gathered around Cardon as they attempted to figure out what to do with the ruthless man. The others stood in front of him as they spoke out their opinions about the man sitting on the ground, but she stood and waited. Ready to take him out if the need would arise. To Frieda’s dismay, Ellenor sat horrifyingly close to Cardon on the ground, looking at him with an inquisitive face. The eye was flashing maddeningly fast atop Ellenor’s head which only made the woman squint harder. Frieda couldn’t pay her much mind though, as Cardon shifted and she had to make sure of any moves he took. 

 

“We need to get rid of him,” July said definitively. “There’s no other option.”

 

“No,” Pete disagreed. “He’ll just keep causing us trouble.”

 

“Then what do we do?” Candy shook her head at Pete. “Keep him.”

 

Tadaaki spoke with a bitter brutality that no one expected from him, “If we left him alone with Kieren long enough, I’m sure we would be able to get rid of one of our problems.”   
  


“There’s no use in killing anyone,” Eryk commented. “That makes us as bad as everyone else.”

 

“We might as well cast another vote,” July shrugged. “Seemed to work last time.”

 

“Probably why the circus didn’t work,” Pete sneered under his breath.

 

“We voted on that,” Candy stood taller. “I remember distinctly voting for our ringleader.”

 

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Pete rolled his eyes. “She was the leader before and we all knew it.”

 

“So what?” July took a protective step in front of Candy. “It was obvious what was implied.”

 

“We all agreed to it, it’s not anyone’s fault it didn’t work,” Candy continued.

 

“I think I can see a direct relation between us bombing it and who suggested it,” Tadaaki raised his voice.

 

“Wait,” Cardon’s voice rang in the air, making them all stop. It was the first word that he had said above a whisper since he had joined them. For a brief second, everyone feared that he had removed the dampener, but it was surely not being projected into their ears like his powers allowed him to do and was in fact audible from his mouth. The sound was actually still quiet, though his bassy voice made it so the sound resonated through the air. “You tried to start a circus?” He glanced back at Frieda when he asked the question. Instead of responding, Frieda gave him an irritated look as she pointed at Ellenor. Cardon turned back around to look at the leader of the supers. For a moment he just gawked at her as she frowned back at him, but then, he cracked a smile.

 

Cardon went from a facetious smirk and into flippant laughter. With that, Ellenor’s look of angered curiosity flipped to that of heated embarrassment. Her face went completely red as her shame came to fruition. He continued to laugh as he wiped tears out of the creases in his face.

 

“Enough,” Frieda reached forward, taking Cardon’s shoulder in her hand. It pained her to see Ellenor embarrassed about something she was once so passionate about. 

 

Cardon waved Frieda off, “I’m done, I’m done.”

 

“What’s so wrong about a circus?” Ellenor asked, her voice on the verge of breaking. 

 

Cardon still chuckled as he smiled at Ellenor. “No offense, Sergeant General Marie, but you’re not exactly the type.” Ellenor’s face heated up more at that. “It’s in your name, Sergeant General, you’re trained for a different kind of work.”

 

Ellenor’s face relaxed as her eyes went wide, “But you…” And suddenly, the eye stopped flashing images to Ellenor. Frieda wished she hadn’t made the same realization.

 

“You weren’t,” Frieda shook her head. Cardon whipped around to frown at her. “You were trained for show business.”

 

“You,” Ellenor leaned forward, even closer to Cardon.  He turned around again to face her, his face being the confused one. “It’s you. You’re the missing piece.”

 

“What the hell are you two talking about?” Cardon kept looking back and forth between the two women.

 

“You survived for years using your powers in your drag show,” Frieda stepped closer even though she was terrified of the ideas that were being put into her head that Ellenor was exuberant to be creating. “You know how to exploit them.”

 

“Yeah, but if you remember,” Cardon shook his head at her. “We failed. We were arrested.”

 

“But we know how to escape,” Ellenor smiled up at Frieda and back down at Cardon. “You can teach us show business and we’ll teach you survival.”

 

Cardon frowned at Ellenor with his mouth open absolutely amazed but with his brow furrowed. But it once again completely changed to instead be a smile of content. “You’re insane,” He said with a laugh. “I love it.”

 

“No,” Eryk took a step forward. “No way.”

 

“We’re not keeping him around,” Tadaaki demanded.

 

“He’s dangerous!” July stated the obvious.

 

“This is reckless!” Pete scoffed with his nostrils flared.

 

“How could you even suggest…?” Candy crossed her arms in anger. 

 

Ellenor’s train of excitement slowed as the others blatantly disagreed with her. “But… this is what we need.”

 

“What you need maybe,” Pete corrected. “He’s going to steal from us and trick us again!”

 

“Slow down, slow down,” Cardon stopped their bickering. “You know I have a say in this too, right?” He looked up at the supers standing in front of him. “You all seem to be fans of democracy after all.” The supers looked around at each other as Cardon challenged them.

 

“What do you want?” Frieda whispered under her breath, loathing how he still somehow had control over her.

 

“What I want… ” Cardon smirked back at her. “Is to stay.” He looked over to make eye contact with the French woman. “I’ll train you in whatever ways you ask so long as you do the same for me.”

 

“That’s what I want,” Ellenor agreed, her smile wide at him.

 

“No,” Frieda put her foot down. “No, no, no, he, he hurt you. He put you in a coma, a stole your money, he almost slit your throat. He can’t stay.” Frieda firmly spoke. “I can’t accept this.”

 

“It’s not your choice,” Ellenor frowned up at her. “It’s my choice who I forgive.”

 

“Ellenor,” Pete spoke up, one of the only times he directly spoke to her. “There is no circus. Am I the only one who sees that?”

 

“But I see it, I truly see it,” Ellenor implored him with a desperate smile. “I know it’s our future.” 

 

Pete gave a pained look down at her.

 

“You see it?” Cardon inquired the phrasing.

 

Ellenor smiled back to him, pointing to the eye on her forehead. “I can see the future, sometimes the past.” 

 

Cardon squinted at the eye, quirking his head at it. “You always know what will happen?”

 

Ellenor grimaced. “Well,” She seemed unsure. “I have to know the person’s name, have to meet them, and then, the eye has to tell me, but it normally only tells me when bad things are going to happen.”

 

Cardon’s face softened. “And that’s how you survive?” Ellenor nodded. “You must be very safe to be around.”

 

Ellenor’s face turned to despair. “I don’t know about that.”

 

“I like you,” Cardon smiled at her. “It’s a shame we didn’t meet sooner.”

 

“Ellenor,” Frieda tried to get her wife’s attention. But she was invested in Cardon. She wished she could talk to her to stop her from making brash decisions, but it was too late. Lifting up her shirt, Frieda grabbed the handle that prodded her back to take hold of the gun and aim it at Cardon. The blue and white stripes that curved around the gun made it look like a toy, but the incredibly sharp spikes at the end of it said otherwise. “Cardon Peterson,” Frieda’s voice boomed in the woods. Then, she had everyone’s attention. “Would you ever, under any circumstances, give up being a super?” Cardon turned around completely to face her instead of the backward glances she had been receiving. “Because it will take a lot to make me want you in this group, but it will take even more to have me let you ever go out into the world again.”

 

Cardon’s eyes went lidded as he thought. “My friends, who I thought were my friends at least, were shot with that gun you hold now. They put up a fight, but they in the end accepted it. I lost everyone when they turned to humans. And I was given the same option. Leave everything behind and rejoin society, or live in prisoned for the rest of my life as a super. I do not want to live in a society that doesn’t accept supers.” He opened his eyes meet to Frieda’s.

 

“He’s a super,” Pete said aloud. “He’s a true super.”

 

Frieda gave a pained smile at him. “I’ll admit, I’m a little disappointed, I wanted to know how this thing works.” She dropped the weapon to her side. “I’m not letting him leave with his power, but I can’t take that power away from someone who wants to be a super.”

 

“Which is more cruel,” Cardon asked. “Making a super who wants their power into a human, or keeping a super who doesn’t want their power a super?”

  
Frieda frowned at his question, but ignored him to address the group. “I’m sorry, but he’s staying with us. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you all feel safe, but I can’t let him out into the world like this.”

 

“I agree, but this still doesn’t make me happy,” Pete gestured at Ellenor and Cardon on the ground.

 

“Trust me, I know.” Frieda wanted to walk away, but she still felt uncomfortable with the two so close together.

 

“You’d know better than any of us,” July sank into herself, but still felt the need to speak. 

 

“We’re done here,” Frieda said, placing the gun back into her waistband. She roughly grabbed Cardon’s arm and lifted him to his feet.

 

“You know,” He went back to whispering. “I’ve seen that thing in action. I could tell you a thing or two.” Frieda’s heart fluttered at the idea of her questions being answered, but dreaded that she would have to speak to him.

 

“I’d rather see it myself,” She replied as she started to escort him away.

 

Cardon pursed his lips. “Well, how many supers are in your little… convoy?”

 

Frieda glared at him. “What are you getting at?”

 

“I’m just saying there’s a lot of you,” He shrugged. “One of you is destined to hate being a super.”


	196. Destined

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "One of you is destined to hate being a super."

Frieda hated Cardon. It was undeniable. She hated how he was able to use his power against her, she hated what he had done to her wife, she hated what he had done to her, she hated what he had stolen from them, she hated that at her lowest point she gave into him, she hated that he was able to coerce Ellenor into letting him stay, and above all she hated how he made her curiosity grow.

 

The inventor inside Frieda had been calling out to her ever since the day she had been forced to be in medical personnel instead of her dream. But recently, the urges within her had been rekindled. Revisiting her childhood home was a huge step, especially since she found the music box that she kept close to her person. Then, she found herself revamping her own glasses, that too made her yearn for her dream. And when the gun had been brought to her, it was the most peculiar thing that she had stumbled upon. More than anything, she wished to know how it worked, wished to see it used, know how to deactivate it if necessary.

 

 _One of you is destined to hate being a super._ Frieda didn't trust Cardon and never would, but she knew that he was a part of the real world and had seen real world problems. Every single one of his party had left him to be placed back into society.

 

So, Frieda had made her offer. Sitting in a gazebo just outside the Finland-Russia border, the supers waited around a small grated metal table with a white gun colored with blue swirls on it. Whoever took it would be allowed to leave, go back to whatever they wanted, and live with all the other humans without any consequence.

 

It was silent as they all say there waiting. As it should be. No one knew if it was what they wanted. Frieda had a feeling that no one would do it, she felt like she knew everyone well enough to guess that much, but Cardon's words still rang with her. So she remained still.

 

Five minutes in, Ellenor left the gazebo, her choice obvious to anyone who had ever met her. Xander was the second to leave, choosing to keep his beautiful sight. Not long after, July and Candy followed suit. It took another ten minutes for Havi to ask Pete to leave. He and Gabe followed Pete away from the scene, holding his hands on either side. Bea soon Popped afterwards. Kieren eventually let out a hardy laugh before he too left the gazebo, only to stand outside it, watching to see what would happen. Sachi whispered to Tadaaki, saying he wished to forget this entirely. It took a while, but Tadaaki responded in agreement and they too exited the small structure. Vivica and Jerricho held conversation with each other, but only Jerricho's whispering was heard by the rest of the group. Hand in hand, they walked each other away, never looking back. Early placed a hand on Frieda's shoulder, gave her a pained expression and walked away. Numbers were dwindling within the small circle as Jamie, Flower, and Vivian all scampered away from the building. Three remained within, Paul, Frieda, and Isamu with Kieren watching them from the outside. When Frieda stood, someone finally broke the half-hour of silence.

 

“What about Lolias?” Isamu asked, not lifting his head from where it looked down at the table.

 

Frieda squinted for a moment but then shook her head. “Last time we tried to include him, he refused.”

 

“That doesn't make him any less of a part of our group.” Isamu defended. Though his voice was stern and commanding, he kept his gaze lowered.

 

Frieda started to argue back, but Kieren shifted from where he stood outside the gazebo. He stood straight up from his leaning position against one of the main pillars of the archway.

 

“Fine,” Frieda picked up the gun. “So long as none of you are going to, we'll see if he…” And even though she had her mind blazing about the idea, she couldn't find it in herself to finish her own sentence.

 

Aggravated, Frieda pushed past Kieren, storming towards the purple and white trailer. She was angered as she approached, but the closer she got, the more her stomach knotted. That made her steps slow significantly, but not nearly as much as the sudden prying eyes did. As much as they pretended to be disinterested with the offer Frieda had provided, everyone wanted to know how this would end.

 

With one hand on the handle and the other on the gun, Frieda swung open the trailer door. A somber face was held by the Cuban man when he looked at her. Somehow, his sorrow made her even more hesitant.

 

“What?” He asked her, his bitterness bypassed his sadness when he spoke to her.

 

“I'm here to make the same offer I made everyone else,” She spoke to him, holding her certainty again since he was angered. “This gun removes the power of supers. If you shoot yourself right here,” She gestured to the joint between her neck and shoulder. “You can go, for good. And we'll never mention you if we're ever caught or hold this against you.”

 

Frieda looked to see his reaction, but his face said nothing, even his anger and sadness were gone. She waited for a reply, but he didn't say a word. Frieda assumed it was because of his pride. With a scoff, she dropped the gun onto the plywood floor and shoved it to make the weapon glide across the floor.

 

“No!” Frieda heard a shout just as she pushed it. She glanced behind her, confused to see July holding a bawling Candy. The younger of the girls was losing her composure as the other one held her back with a somber acceptance.

 

Frieda whipped back around just in time to see Lolias snatch the moving gun off the ground and slamm the barrel into his neck. Her jaw dropped as Lolias clenched his eyes shut in pain and pulled the trigger.

 

For a brief second nothing happened, but then blood pooled at Lolias’s joint, getting caught in the crevice caused by his collarbone and then sliding down his bare arm. Frieda gasped as she covered her mouth.

 

For a brief moment, Lolias just sat there, bleeding in the silence. But then he started to scream. Horrifying gasps and shouts consumed the air within the trailer, but was completely lost to the wind outside of it. As the large man thrashed at his shoulder, the same color blue as the gun spread itself through his veins, making them protrude out of his skin as though they were going to burst. He continued to year and tear at his shoulder until the beautiful tan had been scratched away to a bright pink and deep red.

 

Candy shoved Frieda, making her fall to the mildew covered grass. She rushed into the back of the truck, yelling for Lolias to calm down, or to lean down, or to let her help him, but she was drown out with the sound of his terror. She begged his to stay calm, but her own wails showed her hypocrisy.

 

July leapt in behind Candy, she too attempted to console Lolias, but whatever pain he was in took him too far away from the reality where he could be saved by the other supers.

 

Isamu was the next to run in, commandeering Tadaaki, who followed close behind, to hold Lolias down with his power. Behind Tadaaki, the grass reached up into the trailer, attempting to wrap around the flailing limbs. With that, Lolias became cohesive, realizing everyone there.

 

“It _burns_.” He pushed to say before shrieking.

 

Isamu continued to order around the small group that had gathered. He pointed for Candy and July to hold either of Lolias’s hands, he gestured to try to get Lolias to calm down, he told Tadaaki to bring his shoulder down.

 

Slowly and painfully, the grass that Tadaaki controlled wrapped around the back of Lolias’s head. The giant man protested as he continued to thrash about, but eventually gave in, allowing himself to go limp as he tumbled forward. Isamu propelled himself upward, stepping onto Lolias’s thigh and then latching onto the blue striped bullet that was then mostly red. It was seemingly tiny on Lolias’s body, but it stuck out like a sore thumb. Isamu cringed as he dug his fingers around the edge of the small circular protruding obstruction and then pulled. As he did, the skin squelched and squished out with blood and blue. Lolias howled more, but remained down as Isamu ripped the bullet out of him.

 

The trailer quieted then, the silence only tainted by Candy’s soft sobs. Gently, the viney grass around Lolias unfurled, releasing him from the uncomfortable position. He lifted himself up slightly to look at the damage done.

 

He couldn’t see the actual wound, but he saw the thick baby blue mixed with his blood running out and down his body. After a couple blinks, he returned to his typical amount of awareness. Just outside the trailer, the other supers stood, looking in and waiting for something.

 

A clink of the bullet hitting the ground brough everyone’s attention to Isamu. He had his head lowered, staring down at the spiked and striped bolt that he just dug out of human flesh.

 

Lolias turned to him, incredibly grateful for what he had done, even though the others had helped. He opened his mouth to give his thanks, but he was cut short as Isamu’s one and only fist into the side of Lolias’s jaw.

 

“How could you?” The Japanese man’s voice sent daggers through the air. “After everything?!” Lolias left his mpouth agape as he grabbed his jaw in pain. It felt like a horse had kicked him in the face. “You’d give up everything just to go back to your old life?!” It was painful to hear Isamu speak with such rage to Lolias, but the other supers had heard the same tone several weeks ago when he exposed Kieren. “I can't believe how… _selfish_ you are!”

 

“'Selfish?’” Lolias scoffed. “'Selfish?’ Sorry I don't want to be miserable. Sorry I don't want to be locked up. Sorry I don't want to die alone. Sorry I want to live.” He bared his teeth down at Isamu. “Sorry I have the guts to change my life unlike you!”

 

“You honestly think any of us would want things differently?” Isamu gestured to the other supers. “We're a family.”

 

“I'm not talking about 'us.’” Lolias snarled at him. “I'm talking about you.” Isamu curled his nose. “Oh but no,” Lolias's tone went sarcastic, “Isamu is so selfless and does so much for us, but if you weren't a coward, you'd give up being a super faster than any of us!”

 

“Don't you dare,” Isamu gritted.

 

“Hell, you'd rather die than be where you are! Well, so do I!” Lolias gestured hard at himself.

 

“Enough!” Kieren took a step into the trailer.

 

“This isn't about you!” Isamu shouted over his shoulder, not sparing even a glance to Kieren.

 

“You haven't changed,” Ismau spoke harder, but more quiet. “You're as selfish as the day I met you.”

 

“And you're the same pity-hungry loser as the day I met you.” Lolias craned his head up, looking further down at him.

 

Isamu shook his head as he held his angered eyes. “Don't you ever speak to me. I never want to see you again!” And he turned away from Lolias as he stomped out of the trailer.

 

“Yeah,” Lolias growled. “Run back to your boyfriend.” As Lolias said that, Isamu just reached Kieren. Without any hesitation, the one-armed man shoved Kieren, making the lean man stumble back and hit his head against the plywood wall. He stormed out of the trailer and away from the rest of the supers, each of which held their own face of surprise, sorrow, and confusion.

 

Lolias then looked around at the staring eyes, fueling his anger further.

 

“Go away!” He shouted, his voice getting shaky from the yelling. He turned to Tadaaki, July, and Candy still inside the trailer. “Get out!”


	197. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Be prepared.

Ellenor held a stick in her right hand and a hat in her left. She took two steps and then flared her arms out in a dramatic gesture with a huge smile. She didn't even need Cardon to yell at her that time, because she felt the stumble in her footing. She turned around, marching back to the starting point to try again.

 

Frieda sat a distance away, the blue swirled white gun laying on the flattest rock she could find in front of her. With a tiny pair needle-nose pliers, she attempted to take the weapon apart on the slab. There were already plenty of very small parts lain on the deep grey stone, but it was a meticulous task in which Frieda took her glasses off and put her hair up for.

 

Cardon stood with a hip jutted out watching Ellenor with a sharp eye. By Frieda's insisting, he still wore a pair of cuffs across his wrists, but clapped when it was necessary to get Ellenor to focus in. They'd been working ever since lunch that afternoon. It was only the three of them since the other supers avoided him at all costs. He was sure in his mind that Frieda was only there to keep an eye on him, but the small woman spoke to him about the events with the giant man.

 

“Why didn't it work on him?” Frieda questioned him. “Why's he so different?”

 

Cardon shook his head at Ellenor as she spun to try her entrance again before he spoke, “My only guess is his size. The same thing happened to Liza.” Cardon huffed, “Try it starting on the right foot.”

 

“What do you mean?” Frieda asked, still not lifting her head from her work. “What happened?”

 

“He took it quite painfully too,” Cardon explained. “But it subsided quickly. The only other similarity was the blue in the veins.”

 

Frieda bit her lip as she thought. “It obviously injects something, but this thing looks like pure steel.” Frieda glanced to the one stray bullet that she had out of the cartridge, thanks to Lolias, but went back to work immediately.

 

“They say it's not removable,” Cardon started with a shaking head, “It seems like you didn't have any trouble.”

 

“He was screaming in pain,” Frieda said flatly, just went Cardon had felt they could have had a genuine and honest conversation. “You call that no trouble?”

 

Cardon replied just as emotionless, “You think I haven't tried to remove one of those things?”

 

“Does it matter that you have to shoot in at the neck basin?” Ellenor suggested.

 

“I knew you weren't focused,” Cardon snapped at her. “You're never going to improve if you can't pay attention.”

 

Ellenor shook her head. “Sorry, listening to you talking is distracting.”

 

“Do you know how many distractions are out on a stage?” Cardon asked her rhetorically. “Again.”

 

Cardon glanced back to Frieda to see that she had lifted her head to watch him bicker at Ellenor. Her gaze fell when it was over. He swore she cares about nothing else than the other woman. He turned up a lip at the thought.

 

“He said it burned,” Cardon added. “I've never heard of that. Just a sting.” He remembered the night his friends left him to rejoin a hateful society. “And what was happening to his veins?”

 

“They were sticking out,” Frieda mumbled

 

“Maybe it's because his power was enabled so long ago,” Frieda suggested. “He's one of the older supers.”

 

Ellenor gasped. She turned around to face the two of them to show that they eye was opened wide on her forehead and crying. Cardon took a step back with a grossed out face, but Frieda stood up to offer her attention.

 

“It did work,” Ellenor dropped the stick to cover her mouth. “He's been growing, ever since that night. He came to me, trusted me, for me to protect him…” Ellenor’s eyes fluttered shut as the eye remained wide open. “He’s not going to grow anymore.”

 

Frieda frowned down for a moment before going to Ellenor’s side. She took her hands within her own to comfort and console. “Is it because his power is physical?” Frieda looked back towards Cardon. 

 

Cardon frowned at that comment. “I wouldn’t know. My drag queens all had… not physical powers.” He lowered his head as he thought. “It was immediate too.”

 

Frieda released Ellenor as she moved to wipe her face of the tears.

 

“This isn’t working,” Ellenor slumped her shoulders as she complained to Cardon. “It’s not like I can force myself to not limp.”

 

He sighed, covering his eyes with his cuffed hands. “Let me show you what to do,” He offered as a solution. Ellenor took a step back out of the main clearing, closer to the brush that surrounded it. “No, no, no,” He held out his wrists. “Let me out of these.” 

 

Ellenor took a step closer, but was promptly grabbed by Frieda. “Don’t you dare,” Her wife warned the taller woman.

 

Ellenor scoffed. “He’s not dangerous.”

 

Frieda’s look of irritation couldn’t be hidden on her face. “There’s no way you actually believe that.”

 

Ellenor snatched her hand away. “Enough.” She started for Cardon who patiently waited for his freedom.

 

“Wait,” When Ellenor looked back to her, Frieda looked full of despair instead of her typical irritation she showed when she spoke of Cardon. “Let me do it.” 

 

Ellenor frowned slightly in confusion, but it went unnoticed as Frieda moved towards the other man.

 

To Cardon, Frieda was simply using gentle hands as she daintily took off the cuffs, but Frieda was scared that those hands would attack her own.

 

She held her the crude links of metal in her hands as they fell off of Cardon. “This doesn’t mean I trust you.” 

 

“Rightfully so,” Cardon said and his cooled facial expression turned sour with a huge grin.

 

“Wait!” Ellenor shouted, and it distracted Frieda just enough.

 

Cardon grabbed both of her wrists, making her drop the cuffs. He took her hands in his own, bringing them down as his knee went up. Frieda attempted to pull away, scared to break her wrists, but the man was much stronger than her. The veins that wrapped around his muscular arm taunted her. She closed her eyes, not wanting to watch as he broke her wrists, but he didn’t. No, instead, his knee collided with the handcuffs, sending them back upwards to click around her wrists. Once the metal was around her wrists, a wonderful idea filled her head. 

 

“No, Frieda, don’t!” Ellenor seemed distant from the situation, but she was so loud in Frieda’s ears. It was too late for her warning, again. Frieda sent an electrical charge through the wrist-cuffs, straight into Cardon. 

 

Frieda looked up to snarl at him, but his smile went wider. And not a second later, Frieda realized why. The sound of the trees flowing with each other in the leaves completely vanished from her perception only to be replaced with the screeching of a single note. As Frieda went to cover her ears, Cardon took hold of her arm and forced her to turn around. She attempted to fight back, but he planted his foot onto the ground awkwardly around her own, making her trip. He then slammed a foot into the back of her knee, forcing her to her knees, facing Ellenor. He held her at the wrists, unnaturally twisting her arms high above her head. She gasped in pain, only she couldn’t hear her own voice over the horrible sound that took her over. When he found the strength to open her eyes, she say how Ellenor’s face was also twisted as she covered her ears.

 

“Now you two listen very closely,” Cardon’s voice replaced the noise that rang in both of their ears. He was all they could hear, the loss of white noise horrifying to even fathom. “No matter what happens, I’m the one in control.” Ellenor shrieked as another wave of sound rippled into her mind by him, though not into Frieda. “We’re leaving. Just us two, and you’ll give me what I actually want.” Cardon twisted Frieda’s arm further and further with each word. “And these freaks you think have a chance of being a circus will be better without you, right, Ellenor?” That time, the sound broke into her head, splitting every hair she had and making her teeth threaten to shatter.

 

Unlike everything else, there was one sound the broke through the parameters of Cardon’s power. Frieda heard Ellenor let out a pure battlecry. 

 

She grabbed the back of Frieda’s head and threw her forward into the grass as she launched herself closer to Cardon. Just in time, Frieda turned around on the grass to see something she had never known Ellenor could do. The tall woman bounced upwards, tucking her feet up into herself, but then immediately kicking straight outward, landing her left foot first and the right one second, directly into his torso. She got on her feet awkwardly, but not nearly as awkwardly as Cardon did.

 

He scrambled on the ground with his mouth moving rapidly, but Frieda couldn’t hear any of it. He focused his energies entirely on Ellenor. Frieda could tell that she was limping, even more now, and struggling with the sounds in her head. Yet, she pushed through harder and harder through it as she trudged towards him, her limp somehow making her figure more daunting. 

 

Her breathing was ragged and completely through her gritted teeth as all three of her eyes poured out tears down her face. Both hands curled at her two sides, both quaking with something that Frieda wouldn’t be able to identify if it weren’t for the expression on Ellenor’s face. Her nose curled up as her eyebrows furrowed down with her teeth bared so much that even her gums showed. Even the third eye seemed to radiate rage as images flashed vigorously across it.

 

She finally cornered the panicked crawling Cardon against a tree with her stalking gait. She took the white t-shirt that he wore under his jumpsuit and curled it into her hand. She lifted him up of the ground by it, making it stretch tightly around his body. 

 

“How dare you?” Ellenor spoke with snarls and growls, but she was quiet. “Don’t you  _ever_ touch  _my wife_ ever again.” And Ellenor slammed her fist into the huge nose in the middle of the man’s nose. “You’re lucky you’re not dead because of her and you act ungrateful to her?” Ellenor’s spit flew out of her mouth as she spoke, not caring that it spewed onto his skin. “You’ll wish you were dead when I’m done with you.”

 

Frieda only noticed then that she had curled into herself. The tone of voice, the words chosen, the looks of rage, and the actions she never could have imagined Ellenor taking brought pure fear into Frieda’s body. 

 

“You thought you could hide it from me?” Ellenor punched him again, her fist hitting half on his cheek, half on his lips with a sickening thud and pop. “What you really think? Your true intentions?” Another punch made Frieda shut her eyes, only letting herself hear some kind of snap as Ellenor slammed her fist into his brow. “You’re lucky that dampener kept you safe from me. No more. You lied to me. You abused  _my wife._ ” Ellenor raised her hand for another punch. “I’ll kill you for that.”

 

“Stop,” Frieda allowed her shaky voice to say. That made Ellenor slump. “Stop…” Frieda hadn’t realized that she was crying. She opened her eyes to face a monster that was in place of her wife, but that monster had relaxed. “This isn’t like you…” Frieda gasped. “You’d never kill anyone.”

 

Ellenor’s head lolled as her nose suddenly dripped ruby red blood. She slumped as she released Cardon, falling over into the grass. 

 

“Frieda,” She heard her wife gasp her name. With that, Frieda was on her feet rushing to get to Ellenor. “Help me…” 

 

“What’s wrong?” Frieda squated, just in front of Ellenor, next to Cardon. 

 

“My leg,” Ellenor looked to the right one. “I messed up. I messed up.”

 

“It’s okay,” Frieda moved to inspect the leg that she had specified.

 

“Frieda!” She heard Eryk shout as he entered the clearing.

 

“Thank the gods,” Frieda sighed. “Get the dampener, I’ll turn it back on and it needs to be put back on him.”

 

“What happened?” Tadaaki asked, fear riddling his voice.

 

“They fought,” Frieda said without detail. “Help me carry Ellenor.”

 

Together, Frieda and Tadaaki wrapped Ellenors arms around their shoulders, helping her limp through the small forest as Eryk and Isamu took care of Cardon. 

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ellenor asked, starting to cry again. “Why didn’t you tell me what he did to you?”

 

Frieda scoffed in pain. “I told you what he did to you. Isn’t that enough?”

 

“I don’t care about me!” Ellenor’s voice broke as she implored Frieda.

 

“And that’s why I always have to take care of you!” Frieda called back.

 

Ellenor slumped more, letting her head fall onto Frieda’s shoulder. “I’m sorry…” Ellenor whispered.

 

“Since when do you whisper? Or apologize?” Frieda asked, her fond tone making Ellenor smirk.

 

“My head really really really hurts…” She continued to speak quietly. 

 

“Because you’re reckless,” Frieda smiled.

 

“Is that okay?” Ellenor looked up at her.

 

Frieda shook her head. “Of course it is.”


	198. Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Does a song ever end?

Candy sat on the plywood floor with her legs crossed, running her hands through the thick dark curly locks that were splayed out on the floor. Lolias had his arms crossed over his chest as he stared straight up at the ceiling of the trailer. His legs were propped up slightly against the wall to keep his size under control. July sat up against the wall on the other side of Lolias’s head. The compartment quaked, making her shift, but she couldn’t care.

 

“What right does he have to talk like that?” July scoffed. “It was completely uncalled for.” Lolias’s eyelids got incredibly heavy. “And even if he could talk like that, why did he have to punch you in the face?”

 

“You were already in pain,” Candy said quietly, her hand ghosting over the healing wound on his shoulder. “He didn’t have to make it worse.”

 

“I can’t believe he called you selfish after he was the one being selfish! I mean, when’s the last time he was trapped in a trailer?” July let out an irritated sigh.

 

“But maybe he’s right,” Lolias let his eyes shut. “I was only thinking about myself… not what i’d leave behind.”

 

“But isn’t it selfish to force someone to stay miserable just so they don’t ‘leave you behind,’” July gestured quotation marks. 

 

“It’s not selfish to want to be with someone,” Lolias let his arms fall to his sides.

 

“Then it can’t be selfish to not want to be with someone,” Candy tried to reassure.

 

“But I want to be with him,” Lolias covered his eyes as his voice broke. “I wish we were together. Actually together, but I guess that doesn’t matter now because he never wants to see me!” Lolias cried for a moment before letting out a frustrated shout to only relax again.

 

“I’m sure he didn’t mean that,” Candy continued to comfort him through his hair.

 

“Then he should have thought about what he said,” July sneered.

 

“You’re being inconsiderate,” Candy chided her. “Isamu has feelings too and we can’t ignore that.”

 

July rolled her eyes, but it wasn’t seen do to the darkness of the trailer. “Lolias wanted to leave, he should be allowed to.”

 

“But…” Candy’s hand paused. The other two waited for her to continue, but she started to sniffle.

 

“Candy,” July said with a wary tone. She stood to make her way to the other girl. “It’s okay...”

 

“I didn’t want you to leave either,” Candy started to rub her eyes as thick tears boiled over. “I know you’re not happy, but I don’t want to lose you.”

 

“Hey, that’s okay,” Lolias comforted.

 

“And…” Candy struggled to speak with the buildup of tightness in her throat. “When I saw Frieda coming over here, I knew you would, and I wanted to stop her, and I didn’t want you to, but I want you to have that option like all of us, but that doesn’t even matter because it didn’t ever work and I wanted it to work for you, but I’m so happy it didn’t and I know that’s wrong, but I can’t help it, and, and…” Candy lost her words to her sobs. 

 

“It’s okay,” Lolias tapped her on the head, pushing down on her bright pink hair. “I wasn’t thinking when I did it… I’m glad it didn’t work too.”

 

“But,” July frowned. “What about all the things you said?” 

 

Lolias sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, I wish I was free,” He closed his eyes. “But I want to be here, with all of you. You know I never had friends like this before.”

 

“I didn’t know that,” July said.

 

“I did,” Candy laughed through her tears.

 

Lolias chuckled. “Don’t tell me you two still have that bet…”

 

“No, we don’t, but,” Candy smiled. “We should really talk to you more.”

 

“I know it’s been hectic out there,” Lolias crossed his arms again. “I can’t deny feeling alone, but I know things are more complicated than that.”

 

Two lanes away from the moving truck, another truck barrelled down the road as part of the convoy. While the grey truck that carried the lions behind it was typically saved for Xander, Paul, and Eryk to have a quiet time together, the inhabitants had been replaced in order for a different group to have a different kind of private conversation.

 

Tadaaki drove the truck carefully with Sachi sat in the middle, him being the smallest, and Isamu in the passenger seat. As sad as it made him, Sachi accepted the offer that had been made to all of them, but still hadn’t come to terms with how unsure everyone was, including on of his best friends. Though the uncertainty could be drawn from guessing who would take the gun, everyone took far too long to give their answers, in Sachi’s opinion. Tadaaki was willing to forget the event, just as Sachi had requested. He had actually considered, for a second, that he might go back to his parents, continue schooling, be with his siblings again, but he stopped himself. The comfort of fine, rich living meant nothing if he wasn’t doing it for the right cause. He was a super, there was nothing else that he was. Isamu had been uncertain. Of course, Sachi hadn’t picked up on that since the younger man couldn’t hear Isamu’s emotions. However, if Isamu had taken the gun to shoot himself, he would be able to. By removing himself from his power, he would be free of Kieren, he would be a normal everyday guy, and he could live his dream of properly exploring the world. That was a fact. The other fact was that Isamu never let that influence his decision. He knew better than to question himself. 

 

“Everything feels wrong,” Sachi said as he placed his head down onto Isamu’s shoulder. “I’ve never heard Lolias that mad at you…”

 

“Me either,” Tadaaki agreed. “He completely lost control.”

 

“So did I,” Isamu sighed.

 

After too long of a silence Tadaaki asked, “Have you talked to Kieren yet?” Tadaaki kept his eyes on the road, but he knew Sachi was glaring at him for bringing it up.

 

“No,” Isamu slumped forward. “I don’t ever want to.”

 

“Don’t worry about him,” Sachi comforted. “One topic at a time, is that alright?”

 

“Yeah, of course,” Isamu agreed, his tiredness soaked into his voice.

 

And again, he didn’t speak until prompted, this time by Sachi, “So, what about Lolias?”

 

“What about him?” Isamu’s tone held nothing but sadness that he tried to hide beneath feigned content.

 

“Do you really never want to see him again?” Sachi said it meekly, but he genuinely wanted to know.

 

“I don’t know…” Isamu closed his eye. “Do I truly care about him and want to be with him? Or do I want an escape from everything? Or maybe I’m holding onto the way I used to feel around him, hoping that I’ll feel that way again?”

 

And it was quiet again.

 

“Amaterasu…” Tadaaki whispered.

 

“But,” Sachi turned his entire body to face Isamu. “Don’t you love him? I know he loves you, you have to love him, you loved each other didn’t you? It wasn’t a lie, was it?” Isamu turned his head away, his lips trembling. “Isamu… please… I’ve never seen you as happy as you are when you’re with him!”

 

Isamu brought his hand up to his chest, clenching it at his sternum. “But he wasn’t happy enough to stay with me.” Isamu sniffed. “My heart rests nowhere else but with him, but he was willing to leave me behind, and for what? Pride? Fame?”

 

“I hate this…” Sachi covered his ears. “I can’t hear you at all.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Isamu shook his head, still holding his pained expression. “I’d do anything to be with him… but would he do the same for me?”

 

“Of course he would!” Sachi implored.

 

“But we don’t know that,” Tadaaki spoke up. “What has he done for us?”

 

“But I hear him!” Sachi covered his ears tighter, hating how certain Tadaaki sounded in his beliefs. He attempted to drown out the sound of the other two men in the car and tap into the beautiful sound that the Cuban man’s mind made. Sachi begged for him to be close enough to hear. And finally, after working through every other sound traveling on the road, familiar and not, Sachi finally heard him.

 

A woman’s voice was the sound from Lolias. She sang a song that spoke of sorrow, longing, and heartbreak in a language that Sachi didn’t understand. Her voice was smooth and connected, rolling into every syllable with a precision that said she memorized every word. Even though Sachi couldn’t understand said words, he still knew exactly what she was saying.  _ Home is fleeting. Love is fading. Joy is dwindling.  _ In the key of G major, the song gave no resolution.

 

Sachi opened his eyes, allowing for tears to drip out of his eyes. Was there truly no happy ending to this song?


	199. Final Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final decision: What do we do with him?

Ellenor laughed. Frieda watched her from afar as she so easily got along with Eryk, Pete, and July. It felt like it was just yesterday that they were all bitter towards her. Altogether, sitting at the outskirts of west Russia, they were happy. Frieda knew Ellenor long enough to know that she found every opportunity to find joy. Only, in that moment, something was off. Frieda wouldn’t deny that she saw genuine happiness through them as July made excited hand gestures as she spoke to the group. There just had to be something bad, didn’t there?

 

When a small shout rang in the air, Pete stood and excused himself from the conversation. He jogged past Frieda without a glance. He retreated to the parked cars where Jamie and Havi fought over a pair of gloves. Frieda shoved her own hands deeper into her pockets even though their depth provided no extra warmth. It was getting cold all too fast. 

 

The further west they moved, the fewer signs of human life started to show. They were lucky to find a bench or table every so often, but this time for a break, Ellenor had opened the truck that hauled the lions, allowing the others to bask in their fuzzy warmth. Frieda watched from the passenger seat of the emerald car. It was slow, but Frieda was certain that the other supers were warming back up to Ellenor. Frieda assumed that she was the one being blamed for Cardon’s staying with the group.

 

Frieda hated that she even skimmed over that thought, for Ellenor stood and approached her. She slumped in her seating knowing that they would have to talk about him again. Any time she even thought his name, Ellenor was back again. Curse the eye for whatever higher power it granted her.

 

Ellenor opened the door to the car, allowing for the cold air to flow right into her face. Frieda shuddered in, thanking herself for allowing her hair to grow. She couldn’t say the same for the beautiful french woman that approached, her incredibly slow growing hair the same length as when she cut it.

 

“I think it’s time,” Ellenor said without any further explanation.

 

Frieda nodded, pushing Ellenor slightly out of the way as she stood up and out of the seat. “I’ll get the others, we’ll meet in the trailer,” Frieda avoided eye contact as she spoke, walking towards the trailer without need for instruction. She didn’t look back, but heard Ellenor’s footsteps fading the other direction. Nervously, she grabbed the attention of any super on the way, telling them to follow her. There had been talk for the past several days. Everyone knew that their lives were at a dividing point and the world was crashing down. Somehow there was far less tension between everyone. It seemed that everything was out in the open and everyone at least knew what was going on instead of the confusion that came with Cardon’s appearance.

 

The sky was a grey that faded up into a bright white of wispy yet prominent clouds. Its color made the bright purple of the truck dull without the sun lighting it. Frieda grabbed the black handle and pulled it out of place to swing open the trailer door. She only opened it a crack, enough for everyone to squeeze through, in order to keep as much heat inside. A few nods were all she got, but nothing more.

 

Frieda entered behind six of the other supers. Inside, there wasn’t much space, but Lolias seemed to squish himself into the right corner while Kieren stood against the left wall, looking straight at Cardon who sat up against the right wall. The raven-haired man stared right at Cardon, but the other man had his eyes shut, fiddling with the cuffs on his wrists, pretending to be deep in thought. He was only half a meter away from Lolias. Frieda was surprised that all of them were still alive. By the look of it, none of them had been talking at all, which was even more surprising. The events of the past week were enough to keep the most talkative people quiet. It was different, but Frieda wasn’t enjoying the new ways that people were acting.

 

The door swung open again, making cold air rush in. Frieda crossed her arms over herself as she hurried to the back of the trailer where Candy stood close to Lolias.

 

“The woman of the hour,” Cardon announced, finally lifting his head to look towards the opening door. “Sergeant General Ellenor Marie.”

 

“I think it’s the other way around,” Ellenor spoke in a tone that was on the verge of rage. Frieda curled in on herself when she heard the drastic shift in mood from her wife. “This the final decision on you.”

 

He craned his neck upward, showing his assumed superiority despite his sitting on the ground. “I thought you had already made your decision,” He curled his nose, angry at the way things were going.

 

“I’d say we’ve all come to the same conclusion,” Ellenor looked towards the group, each of them at varying levels of disdain. “But nothing final has been said.”

 

“Let’s get this over with already,” Kieren spoke flatly.

 

“Alright,” Ellenor turned her back to the bearded man to face her group.

 

“Wait,” Cardon spoke up. Frieda noticed the hidden desperation in his voice. It didn’t last though as his voice went into its typical slyness. “Aren't you going to hear my case?”

 

“What case?” July snapped at him.

 

“Why I’m here, why it’s like this, what I’m doing?” Cardon questioned.

 

“You’re here because we brought you here,” Candy gestured to herself and Sachi.

 

“But I’m still here aren’t I?” Cardon smirked slightly. 

 

“You tried to leave just yesterday,” Eryk accused. 

 

“Enough,” Ellenor finally spoke up. “I’ll hear what you have to say.”   
  


Cardon took a deep breath and released it, as if to act relieved.  “Thank you.” He smiled with a fake gratitude, but Ellenor looked down at him with a snarl. “I think what all of you don’t realize is that I’ve done nothing without purpose.” He took a dramatic pause, waiting for some outrage to break out. When it didn’t, he continued, “I seek one thing, a comfortable lifestyle. Isn’t that what we all want? I’m a super, and now I assume that my face is all over the world as they’re searching for me. There’s nowhere for me to work, nothing for me to do. I simply need income and this is the easiest way I can get it. Stealing is wrong, isn’t it? Especially from your beloved general. But she has so much, I’m sure she wouldn’t notice a few million dollars missing. Is that too much to ask? Apparently yes. There’s no way any of you would give me what I need, so I’m improvising. Whether it be blackmailing or physical threats, I’m just doing what I have to to survive. Surely, all of you would understand that.” There was an aura of discomfort around the small cramped trailer. “Isn’t that why you stay here anyway? They have money to provide, and protection to give,” Cardon pointed at Frieda and Ellenor. “That’s why you all stay. You’re dependent on them. And I’m sure their superiority complexes are dependent on you too.” He wore his horrible grin on his bearded face to show his frightening teeth.

 

“Is that all?” Frieda narrowed her eyes at him.

 

“Yes.” Cardon nodded.

 

“How could you compare us to you…?” Bea barely whispered.

 

The tension in the trailer was palpable.

 

“So…” Kieren scoffed with a laugh. “You want to leave?”

 

Cardon frowned up at him, but then smiled back. “Of course I do. But I need compensation first.”

 

“We won’t pay you to leave,” Candy flared her nostrils. “It’s not fair.”

 

“I’m a rational man,” Cardon praised himself. “Are you?” Candy crossed her arms, not replying.

 

“Listen,” Kieren’s voice almost sang out with his smile. “No one’s going to blame us if we tie him to a tree and leave him, but I don't see what the big deal is. He’s just trying to live.”

 

Frieda heard Tadaaki whisper, “Who let him in here?”

 

“So what is our solution?” July asked.

 

“Well, your lovely leader already gave me an offer, but it’s not exactly what I want,” Cardon and Ellenor both competitively showed their pride. “My knowledge for your protection, right?”

 

“What do you want?” Pete sounded defeated. “Just tell us already.” His impatience was appreciated among the other supers.

 

“I want money, and I want it now, and then I'll be on my way,” Cardon shrugged. “How many times do I have to say it?”

 

“That's not happening,” July shook her head. “We won't comply with a crook.”

 

“Ellenor?” Frieda asked tenderly.

 

The woman had surely been listening but the subtle movement of her lips confirmed that she was having a conversation inside her head. Everyone seemed to catch onto this as they looked at her, waiting for her response. Although Cardon watched looking confused, he stayed quiet.

 

“Very well,” Was the last thing she whispered to herself before she clicked back into the outer world. “I have another deal for you. You will help us start the circus,” Cardon chuckled at that. “And you will do anything that is asked of you. By doing so, you will  _ earn _ your money. And once we reach the Pacific coast, we'll part ways.”

 

Cardon let out a hardy laugh. “Now  _ that's  _ a businesswoman!”

 

“But,” Ellenor stopped his celebration short. “I swear to you, if you lay another hand on anyone here with ill intent, I will kill you myself.”

 

Cardon shook his head, still holding a smile. “Rationality doesn't last long around here, does it?”

 

Ellenor turned around to look at the group. “And I given permission to any super here to take whatever means necessary to neutralize this man if the need arises.” Ellenor stood with a hard tall stance. Frieda noticed a small shaking in her right leg. “Is anyone opposed?”

 

“Could we do it sooner than the ocean?” Sachi asked in earnest.

 

“If we need to, yes,” Ellenor agreed. Then it was silent. The eye on her forehead opened to take one last look at Cardon before Ellenor turned to exit.

 

“Let's get moving,” She announced, causing the others to file back out; their chances for input were over. Frieda rushed to the front of the crowd hurrying to reach Ellenor. She clapped her hands around the balled fists that swung at her sides. The older woman turned around looking angered for an instant, but then burst into a smile when the two met eyes. 

 

Frieda couldn't help but smile back despite herself. “Ellenor,” She tried to convey her seriousness. Ellenor didn't seem to pick up as she twisted their intertwined hands around.I think we could convince the others to let us take the emerald car alone if we don't imply anything,” Ellenor face flushed red indistinguishable from the redness caused by the frigid air. Frieda was quickly embarrassed as well as her mind wandered down the same path as Ellenor's. It would be nice to take a break from all of the building drama…

 

Frieda wished it was always that easy to move on. “Wait,” She spoke firm enough to catch Ellenor's attention. “Don't you see something is weird?” Frieda looked deep into the others woman's deep brown eyes. 

 

“Of course,” Ellenor shook her head. “But I'd like to ignore all the weirdness just for a moment.”

 

“No,” Frieda touched the cheek of her betrothed. “I mean with you.”

 

That made Ellenor frown. “What are you talking about?”

 

“Just earlier, everything was cheery and great with the others, and now you're flirting and sweet, but when you're with Cardon it's like you're a totally different person…” Frieda lowered her voice as the supers started to look at the two of them.

 

“Really?” Ellenor's tone was filled with doubt and disapproval. “How?”

 

“It's like you're…” And before she could finish the thought, the horrible realization twisted her stomach into thousands of knots. “Like you're a general.” Frieda kept her eyes down, scared of Ellenor's reaction.

 

For a moment she was silent, before her voice was laughing at an absurd idea yet still with an essence of panic. “No, no, no, I'm not. He just needs more discipline than the others.”

 

“But you hadn't noticed, did you?” Frieda looked up to search the woman's face. “It was instinct and not on purpose.”

 

“No,” Ellenor pulled back away. “I'm not a general. I'm a ringleader. I'm not that person anymore.”

 

“Ellenor,” Frieda attempted to console. “I know you, you'd never threaten anyone like that.”

 

“No,” Ellenor shook her head, making Frieda suspect that she was having a different conversation then. Sure enough, the third eye opened to stream out a steady flow of tears. 

 

“Hey, hey,” Frieda moved to take up her hands again. “Let's get that car for ourselves, alright?” She gave the best smile she could manage. 

 

Ellenor took a deep breath. “Okay.”

 

Frieda held onto Ellenor’s arm, escorting her to the smallest car that they had. She kept her eyes down at the ground, looking at how Ellenor’s right leg continued to limp. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while AO3 but I'm still alive


	200. Art

There will be art here eventually


	201. Fakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keep pretending.

Cardon's wrists were red from the constant chaffing of the cuff he wasn't allowed to take off. He'd had his fair share of run-ins leaving him in bondage, but never as long as it had been with the supers he had been left with. He wished that they would at least provide him with a change of clothes, but it seemed that they rarely changed their own clothes. He was amazed by how little they slept and how they were constantly moving. He tried to not imagine how long it had been going on like that.

 

Behind him, Ellenor walked with hard steps contrasting his own light ones he had gotten accustomed to when he constantly wore high heels. Ellenor rarely touched him anymore when she escorted him. Just to see her constantly on guard made him exhausted. He flared his nostrils every time she spoke to him with such formality that she never had the first days he was with the new group. As much as he wanted to disarm her up tight behavior, he knew he was the last person she'd listen to especially with Frieda working against him. He gritted his teeth at the thought of her.

 

The idea of most of the supers made him angered. The one with pink hair spoke too much, the pretty short young man cried too much, the tall man with all the scars was always bruting. But Cardon didn't let his preconceived notions stop him. Ellenor was walking him around in order to meet each of the supers. Their eligibility for show business was on his shoulders. He had his doubt, however, figuring most of them would have flaws similar to Ellenor and Frieda.

 

A small circle of the cars had been set up, deep in a clearing in a forest that seemed to go on forever where they were. Ellenor escorted him towards the east edge of the circle where he could see the tall scarred man speaking with the incredibly skinny raven-haired man. Their voices were low as they spoke which made Cardon wish to rip off the dampener in order to hear them. Even though they were quiet, Cardon could tell it was a heated argument. 

 

Cardon stopped walking directly in front of where they sat on the ground against a white truck. He looked down at them waiting for introduction, but neither said anything. The skinny one looked up quizzically while the other one with disdain. 

 

“Well?” Ellenor asked from behind him. “What do you think?”

 

Cardon chuckled. “I think I need to meet them before I can make any conclusions.” He went to sit on the ground with them. “I'm Cardon Peterson, but you probably already know that,” He smirked.

 

The skinny man grinned at that. “I'm Kieren,” His bright white teeth along with his pearly skin seemed to glow against his deep dark hair.

 

“You're the guy I keep getting compared to,” Cardon nodded at him. 

 

Kieren shrugged. “I seem to be the only rational person here besides you. That could explain it.”

 

Cardon held back a cringe. “How about you?” He turned to the scarred man, noticing tiny bruises on either side of his neck.

 

“Isamu.” He spoke flatly, not giving off the same demeanor as the other man.

 

“And what's your power?” Cardon wanted to get more out of him, curious about his wounds and bruises.

 

“I control fire. But not just control. I'm immune to it, and I can solidify it,” Kieren went on and on to praise himself. Cardon took a sharp inhale. That's why they had set him to keep an eye on him. 

 

“Solidify fire?” Cardon questioned. And Kieren was up on his feet.

 

“It's been such a long time since I've gotten the chance to show off,” Kieren spoke as he tied his hair up into a massive bun with a quickness and precision that spoke of extensive practice. Cardon glanced over to see Isamu's reaction. He closed his eyes to hide that he was rolling them to stare up at Kieren with half-lidded eyes. “I found out I could do this a few months back, but I've got the hang of it.”

 

Kieren pointed his hand up to the sky in a fantastic gesture. Cardon squinted for a second at the hand, waiting for something to happen. He raised an eyebrow as he looked back down to Kieren's face. The cocky bastard looked down at Cardon with a shit-eating grin. An instant later, fire went scorching up and out from his hand, reaching several feet into the sky, licking at the leaves that hung above. The lanky man then reached up just a little higher, clasping his hand around the stream of fire. Sure enough, Cardon could hear the clank of metal. The flames extinguished as Kieren twirled a massive blade in his hand and pointed it directly at Cardon, a huge smile on his face. Cardon looked surprised at the point, seeing how at different parts were still red hot. There was no doubt then.

 

This super was horrifying.

 

Why the hell were they comparing him to Cardon?

 

Cardon could tell the super had a massive ego. Just the tone of his deep voice was enough to tell, his choice of words were just further confirmation. Cardon had to assert his dominance over this man with his hands cuffed behind his back. “Can you make anything other than knives?”

 

That made the super's pale complexion turn pink. “It's not a knife, it's a sword.” Kieren dropped the blade out of his hand as he folded his arms over his chest. “And no. I haven't tried.”

 

Cardon tried his best to not show how pleased he was with that reaction. “How about you?” He turned to Isamu. “Demonstrate your power?”

 

“I'm immune to fire,” The man spoke few words, but Cardon knew immediately that he was lying. He'd never met someone so bad at lying. He watched as Isamu glanced over at Kieren for a split second. It was that easy to figure out why he was lying. He'd confront him later when alone. 

 

“Well you two are just peas in a pod, aren't you?” Cardon asked in jest. Isamu looked confused, not knowing that idiom while Kieren nodded with self-satisfaction. 

 

“We've been together ever since Isamu found me,” Kieren explained their history. Cardon frowned at that. He had never met them before and he could tell that one was significantly more miserable with the other. “We're practically soulmates.” Cardon cringed at the thought of the two together.

 

“You're… dating?” Cardon looked towards Isamu, scared of his answer.

 

“Of course we are!” Kieren planted his hands on his hips, calling the attention back to him. 

 

Cardon took a moment, soaking in everything the had learned in such a short period. “You know, kid,” Cardon stood to speak to Kieren. “You've got spunk; you're a real performer type, like a sly magician. I think that perfectly correlates to his personality, quiet and mysterious. If you could somehow tie him in to your show, I bet it would be amazing.”

 

Kieren scoffed. “No offense, but 'sly,’ 'quiet and mysterious,’ that doesn't really match us, especially not Isamu.”

 

Cardon laughed. “That's what acting is all about. You'll be emphasizing the most interesting part of your personalities. People won't even know if what's fake or not.” For a moment Kieren frowned, but then his face split into a massive grin. “Think about it and I'll come back.” Cardon then gestured to Ellenor and they left the two behind.

 

“Did you mean that?” Ellenor asked, speaking with a little extra leancy. “About the personalities and stuff?”

 

Cardon raised an eyebrow at her. “Of course. Who you are on stage is someone completely different than you.” 

 

“How about you?” Ellenor asked. “What's your persona?” 

 

Cardon smirked, “You tell me.” Ellenor looked confused before laughing slightly. “Who's next?”

 

A few more paces and the two of them reached the next small group of supers. They didn't speak when they reached them as the young girls had their eyes shut. 

 

“They're still looking for Cardon,” The girl with sad eyes announced when she opened her eyes. “But I think he's top priority, so we're on the down low for now.”

 

“So we haven't been related to the event whatsoever,” Ellenor planted her hands on her hips. “At least we have that.”

 

“Vivica is skeptical,” She continued. “She thinks that maybe it's not public that we're involved, and that they actually know.”

 

“As long as Sachi's identity isn't known, we should be fine, right?” Ellenor asked.

 

The girl sighed as she stood up. “It's hard to tell what is being kept secret from the media. Well, why's he here?” 

 

Cardon came forward, humbling himself to her. “Allow me to introduce myself…”

 

“I know who you are,” The girl turned away, reaching to help the other robotic-looking girl up off the ground. “What do you want?”

 

“Cardon is trying to help in figuring out everyone's act…” Ellenor tried to explain, but she too was cut off.

 

“Wasn't the circus a failure?” She glared at Ellenor. “Give it up already.” 

 

“You’re a snarky little thing, aren't you?” Cardon asked, making the girl upturn her lip. “Sorry, but that only works if you're flirty too.” Cardon couldn't help but smirk at her anger. “Come on, tell me a name and a power and I'll have a thousand ideas.”

 

“We don't need your help to come up with an act.” The girl took the other's hand and turned to leave.

 

Cardon shrugged. “From what I hear, I've got more experience than you, kid.”

 

The girl shook for a moment but then whipped around. “If it will make you leave.” She heaved out an irritated noise before she spoke, “I'm Jerricho and I can sense all frequencies through the entire electromagnetic spectrum. And this is Vivica, she can interact with any type of technology you throw at her. We’ve been tracking headlines, searching for anything that might involve us ever since we lost our one tie to the outside world.”

 

Cardon frowned, not knowing enough about the entourage to understand the reference. His brow was even further furrowed when the girl spoke of her name. ‘Vivica,’ ‘Jerricho,’ something was off. There is a certain intimate familiarity that comes with saying your own name over and over again that allows for the syllables to roll right off the tongue. But the hard ‘J’ and the emphasis on the double ‘R’ made Cardon know that there was no familiarity about the name.

 

“Are you using aliases?” Cardon questioned, falling back onto his hip as he spoke. The flush that erupted on ‘Jerricho’s’ face was enough to answer his question. “That is incredible.”   
  


“Jenn and Pete always told us to hide our names!” The girl yelled at him as he chuckled. “You’re lucky I told you my power at all!” 

 

“Wow,” Cardon scoffed. “What is it for, protection? I’m sure you’ve already been wiped off the face of the Earth by your parents’ shame. Your name means nothing.”

 

“You know nothing about my parents!” Her voice cracked as she shouted back.

 

Cardon took a breath. “Okay, Jerricho,” He addressed her properly. “Now that that’s all out, let’s get real.” The girl, ‘Jerricho,’ continued to fume. “Your powers are perfect, but she can’t speak, can she?” Cardon eyed the robotic girl. 

 

“She speaks through me,” Jerricho defended, slowly cooling off from her tantrum.

 

“So, for anything to work, the two have to be together…” Cardon mulled it over in his head. “I think it could work. Vivica can tell you things that are going to happen in people’s futures by going on to their phones, checking out their calendars and so on. It could really trick some people into believing it.”

 

Jerricho was quiet for a moment, looking at ‘Vivica’ with different expressions. “That would still connect us to the outside world. Of course we’d use it to trick them, or whatever, but we’d have our own benefit from it too. That’s what Vivica says. I think it’s stupid.”

 

“That’s one on board!” Cardon acted triumphantly. “Thank you, ladies, have a good evening.”

 

Cardon walked haughtily away from the two girls, proud of himself. The two of them were much easier to bother than the previous supers he had met with.

 

“That was quick,” Ellenor commented after jogging slightly to catch up to him. “It’s like you knew exactly what they would be doing.”

 

“I started to piece it together before she told me,” Cardon shrugged. “I was getting an idea, but then she told me. I was mainly just asking her to be annoying.” He looked at the woman with his typical smug grin as she stared back baffled at what he assumed was his quick-wittedness. “Who’s next?! I’m on a roll.”

 

“This one is easy,” Ellenor finally joined into the fun nature he put off. She reached out to a massive lever and opened the back of a purple striped white moving truck. Cardon stepped ack, not wanting to be locked inside again with the massive beast that was within. “My good friend used to be a performer before all of this happened.”

 

Cardon squinted in as light barely grazed the wooden flooring of the trailer. He could make out the woman with the pink hair and the other girl that looked like a rag-tag princess, but only a foot of the giant that was inside. 

 

“Figuring out everyone’s act must be so stressful for you,” The rag-tag princess spoke. Her voice ringing out reminded Cardon of the first time he had met her. She came running across a plain to meet him and Frieda, excitedly asking if she remembered her. July was her name, he remembered her shouting it at Frieda. “And what’s this?” July continued. “Are you really so confident?”

 

Cardon then laughed. “Sorry, but you can’t fool me,” He spoke as smug as ever. “I know that powers don’t work on someone with a dampener. You’re not even close to guessing my emotions.” He shut his eyes as he imagined July with the other man, Sachi, running together. “Another emotion reader among you, I can barely believe it. It’s July, right?” Cardon asked outright. “Or are you using a fake name too?” The lack of reply solidified her name in Cardon’s mind.

 

“These three are usually together,” Ellenor explained with a sense of pride in her voice. “Despite how their powers don’t exactly work together like the others, they make a good team.”

 

“Emotion reader,” He nodded at them individually as he guessed. “Color changer, and size control.”

 

“I wish,” Cardon heard the other male voice in the trailer. “I can’t control it.”

 

Cardon shook his head in surprise. “That’s not good…” He spoke under his breath, hoping to not offend. 

 

“You’re going around to figure out acts, aren’t you?” The man questioned. “I’m ready to go back on the stage.”

 

Cardon squinted. “You’re the performer?” 

 

“I was,” He continued. “A lifetime ago. Gymnastics and the works. You think I have a chance, don’t you?”

 

Cardon worked to avoid answering, “What’s your name?”

 

“Lolias, Lolias Garcia-Diaz,” The voice was smooth as flowing chocolate through the rolling 'R's and tapping 'S's.

 

Cardon gasped slightly. “ _ You’re  _ the missing gymnast? But, you're huge!”

 

“I see I still have a reputation,” He praised himself, obviously happy that he was known. “All the rumors are true.”

 

Cardon laughed. “I didn't believe it when they said you were a sympathizer working with Frieda Perime! I mean, I guess you're not, but still. You two knew each other?” He looked back to Ellenor.

 

“It was a meeting of complete chance,” Ellenor admitted. “In a bar in Costa Rica.”

 

“Incredible,” Cardon scoffed. “It's so good to actually talk to someone else that knows what they're doing.”

 

“I'm rusty,” Lolias shook his head. “Don’t expect much.”

 

“How about your friends?” Cardon shyed further away from confirm if Lolias would be part of the circus or not. 

 

“I’m not a performer,” The girl with pink hair stated, almost turning to leave.

 

“Don’t you want to know your fellow super?” Cardon enticed her.

 

“Candy, and that’s it,” She crossed her arms and pouted.

 

Cardon breathed in the name. “A nickname. It must feel so good to be called something else by everyone. Do you mind telling me your real name?”

 

There was a soft smile on her face as she spoke, “Kiersten.”

 

Cardon nodded. “Candy is more fitting, isn’t it?” There was a brief nod shared among the supers in the trailer. “Candy, July, and Lolias, has a ring to it, doesn’t it?” He smiled as he thought about the three names in different orderings. “How about your powers?”

 

“I can change the calories in food,” Candy spoke. “Lolias is just tall.”

 

Cardon turned to Ellenor, wishing he could break the news to her alone, but Lolias spoke up, “You think we could all work together?”

 

The bearded man glanced up at the giant’s handsome freckled face and simply shook his head. “There are certain powers and attributes that can be seemingly fake. A painted on third eye, a good emotion guesser, or a hidden speaker, but there is no way to fake… this.” He gestured up and down. “It’s too real. There’s no way for you to be on stage.” Cardon turned away, not wishing to look at how the other man faked not being torn apart. “Candy’s power isn’t for performance, and July would have to become a better liar.” He moved to the door of the trailer. “Let’s move on.”

 

“Wow,” Ellenor remarked when the two were a good distance away. “That was… rough.”

 

“Hey, I had to say it,” Cardon flared his nostrils. “That was horrible.”

 

“Lolias has been through a lot of heartbreak lately,” Ellenor continued. “This is just another thing.”

 

Cardon huffed. “No one else is going to be like that, are they?”

 

Ellenor shook her head. “It shouldn’t be a problem anywhere else.”

 

A popping noise filled the air then. It was the loudest thing Cardon had heard ever since they had placed the dampener on him. He fidgeted about, searching for the source of the sound. He thought he was losing it until Ellenor whipped around, opening her arms, and shouting that there was a bee. Then, a girl came out of literal thin are and jumped into Ellenor’s arms.

 

“Are you done being mad at me?” Ellenor asked her teasingly. 

 

The girl rubbed her puffball of hair all over Ellenor's face. “As long as you fix the circus, yes.”

 

The girl then vanished, suddenly reappearing at Cardon's shoulder. “I'm Bea, what's my act?” The girl was hyper and cocky, seemingly a common trait amongst those Cardon considered eligible. 

 

“You're a cute thing, aren't you?” Cardon teased. “Floating and teleporting… I'd say something like you jump down from a high five and drop into something but bam! You're gone.”

 

Bea laughed and rolled her eyes. “Cheesey.”

 

Cardon continued wandering about the small encampment that the supers had set up. He met a super that could control plant life, another who could prevent aging and harm, and another who could inflict radiation onto people. It was a massive group of supers that he struggled to understand. 

 

The final car that Ellenor lead him to had a woman working tirelessly on the gun that only one of the supers had chosen to shoot themselves with. She looked up at them for a moment before returning to her work.

 

“Last time I asked, you didn't know what your power was,” Cardon spoke of the first time the two had met. “Do you have a clue yet?”

 

Frieda glared at him before returning to her work. “My power isn't made for performance, I've already come to accept that.” The woman was as dismissive as always. Her wording however made Cardon raise an eyebrow. 

 

“You want to have an act?” Cardon asked, quite surprised. Frieda paused for a moment before going back to being busy. “It's okay, you know, I'm sure we could figure something out.”

 

“Don't be ridiculous,” Frieda made him stop. “I'm not the type.”

 

Cardon laughed. “A lot of you aren't, but you could be.”

 

Frieda shook her head. “Focus on the ones who want it. Not me.”

 

“I'm trying to be honest with you,” Cardon leaned down to try to meet her eyes. “You can be a part of all of this.”

 

He saw her eyes look away from her work, but she didn't lift her head. She stayed quiet for a while before saying, “No, it's time for me to step back.”

 

“Okay, but I had a couple ideas in mind for your power…” Cardon said in a sing-songy voice.

 

That made her lift her head. Her mouth was slightly agape and the light of the car made her eyes glisten. She then turned away with a frown. “This doesn't mean I trust you.”

 

“Likewise,” Cardon agreed. 

 

“We should get moving,” Frieda announced. “We've been here too long.”

 

Ellenor nodded before grabbing Cardon to escort him away. “Let me hang out in the trailer. I like that giant.”

 

Ellenor laughed. “He's sweet, isn't he?”


	202. Blame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reminiscing turns south.

“It’s been trees forever!” Bea complained loudly. The supers had gathered around a small fire that they had finally set up. They were running lower and lower on gas, making everyone considerably nervous. The last instance of civilization they had seen was back when they first entered Russia and a few trucks had been cutting down lumber to transport. They were so deserted that even Lolias joined the circle. Others flocked to him in order to steal from his warmth.

 

“I'm sure we'll get somewhere eventually,” Frieda reassured. “We'll just keep heading south.” The popping and crackling continued to fill the air. Ellenor stated up at the embers that floated in the sky with Bea huddled close next to her.

 

“Do you know anything about Russian geography?” Cardon spoke up out of the near silence. That quiet got even more dense with his speaking. His words hung, waiting to be continued.

 

Frieda scoffed at him. “No. What? Do you or something?” She looked at him with narrowed eyes and he just looked back confused.

 

“Of course I do,” He remarked. “I've had my fair share of tours through this area.” The bearded man looked up at the stars, checking for the directions. 

 

“Where's the next city?” Candy asked with urgency and without tact. 

 

“If I'm not mistaken, the next big city is Petrozavodsk, some distance from here.” Cardon pointed further eastward, despite them being dangerously close to the next body of water. They'd have to cross it eventually after all. The few of the kids around the fire could be heard attempting to pronounce the name of the town that Cardon said. “We could probably start practicing by the time we get there.”

 

“What?” Ellenor perked up. “That soon?”

 

Cardon laughed at her. “Do you want to get this show going or not?” He shook his head as he continued to laugh. “A little practice and I think we could have your first show.”

 

“It’s our show,” Kieren spoke in his typically haughty tone. “Don’t sell yourself short.” Cardon was visibly uncomfortable from the comment.

 

“It’s not like our names will be attached to this anyway,” Pete spoke. “We still have to keep our identities secret.”

 

“Actually,” Cardon stood up. “I have a fantastic idea thanks to you two,” He looked towards the two girls Jerricho and Vivica. “The commandeering Sergeant General Ellenor Marie turned lovely ringmaster.” He smiled down at where she laid on the ground. “You will be you, the dead general come back to life.”

 

“Won’t that be scary?” Jerricho cringed.

 

“But just after news about us died…” Frieda paused as she thought.

 

“It will go up like a wildfire,” Cardon smirked. “Everyone will be talking about it.”

 

“Not only that,” Jerricho added. “But news about Cardon will then simmer too.”

 

“That is only if no one puts two and two together,” Frieda looked discontented.

 

“On the contrary,” Lolias started. “Wouldn’t the two events being connected bring even more light to what our operations are? The more rumors about us, the more curiosity, the more exposure, and the more prying eyes.”

 

“Yes!” Cardon agreed with him. “I hadn’t even thought about it like that…”

 

“Maybe you should do another drag show then,” Ellenor offered. “I’m sure someone would dress up with you.”

 

“No,” Cardon shook his head. “That’s too blatant. We need more subtle. Maybe I could find a way to use my power since that is now common knowledge everywhere.” There was a certain bitterness to his tone.

 

“What about the rest of us?” July started to speak. “There are certain things that can’t be exploited like the rest of us.”

 

“We’ve already talked about this,” Candy criticized right next to her. “That’s why I’ve been practicing my makeup so much.”

 

“I’m sure most of you are exactly proficient in hiding your being a super,” Cardon spoke freely while technically insulting them. “But I’m sure that will soon change.” 

 

“We might as well get going,” Frieda looked towards the horizon where the sun was threatening to rise. “Especially if we’re going to get right to work as soon as we get there…” There was a collective sigh from around the fire.

 

“Come on,” Cardon complained. “Don’t you guys ever relax?”

 

“Remember when we were at that campsite with all those cabins?” Lolias dared to reminisce. “ _ That _ was relaxing.”

 

“I think the most relaxing place we’ve ever been to was that boat ride we took,” Sachi offered his opinion. “I love swaying in the water.”

 

“My favorite place was the hospital,” Bea laughed. “No running, no driving, just being told to do nothing all the time.”

 

“I think this has been pretty peaceful,” Tadaaki said. “Being surrounded by the woods without a hint of light pollution. It’s a little surreal that we haven’t seen anyone else in several days, but I like it.”

 

“I miss the farm,” Eryk said quietly. Nearly all the supers agreed.

 

“We were all so close back then,” Pete spoke while he turned his eyes to the ground.

 

“And we all had our own thing to contribute,” July remembered, “It was like our own little town.”

 

“Until Tadaaki showed up,” Lolias said in jest. That made the majority of them all laugh. Cardon took notice of the lack of response from the two presumed leaders of the group.

 

Tadaaki rolled his eyes. “Don't remind me.” 

 

“Neither of us could believe how lazy everyone got,” Eryk spoke through a chuckle. However, it was cut short when he realized what he had said. The small group dove into a somber silence after that.

 

Cardon quirked his head looking around at the group before asking, “Is this all of you?” He squinted as he went to count all of them. “There were more, weren't there?” 

 

Frieda was the only one who could answer. “We've lost a few since we last saw you.” Cardon cursed under his breath. “Some have moved on and others passed away, but we're still together.” She looked down as if she was ashamed.

 

Cardon frowned in confusion. “It was your fault?” He asked her. Her body went rigid as her face went pale. He cursed again. 

 

“It's no one's fault,” Ellenor tried to defend.

 

“What about Mavis?” Xander barely said aloud, but it was heard all around. 

 

“Or Jenn?” July tacked on.

 

“And you all forget about Hwan!” Sachi said clear cut, yet tears flowed down his cheeks.

 

“And Kev…” Xander shook his head.

 

“And Aki,” Lolias shut his eyes, looking to be in pain.

 

“Those weren't anyone's fault,” Isamu threw into the conversation. For a moment everyone turned to him with anger, but it shifted to fear when they all saw the smiling Kieren who was completely unaffected by the conversation. 

 

Cardon was oblivious to most of everything that they were mentioning. He couldn't believe so many people had died… or at least deserted the group. His bitterness for the group that had left him behind he could feel in through the other supers. He was isolating himself from them since they were like superpowered children to him. Yet, the shared anger slowly made him feel like he could understand the supers. At first, he wanted nothing to do with them. Then, he was incredibly curious to find out just what these supers were about. He assumed their dependence on their leaders made them stay, but others had left. There had to be something more keeping them together.

  
  
  



	203. Prepare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is it like backstage?

“How do you guys even communicate with each other?” Cardon asked Ellenor from the backseat of the low emerald green car. He looked out the back window to see hordes of more trees, but also the other cars that were a part of the convoy. It was dark out, approaching the early morning as they got closer to the northern city. It was odd knowing that six o'clock would be upon them before the sun rose.

 

“We rely on patience above all,” Ellenor said from the passenger seat. Uncharacteristically, she spoke quietly. Cardon glanced and saw that her piercing brown eyes were shut. “Our authority in supposition grants us loyalty from the 'super humans.’”

 

Cardon frown with a shake to his head. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He leaned forward to try to look at Ellenor's face better in the mirror, but it was too dark and the bright headlights confused her features.

 

“We don't expect you to understand the passionate devotion it takes for us to be here,” Ellenor sounded angered, but her face held no expression.

 

“Excuse me?” Cardon pitched his voice. He was certain that Ellenor was finally warming back up to him, but suddenly she was rude again.

 

Frieda glanced over at Ellenor, a look of worry riddled her face. “Ellenor?” She called out to her wife.

 

The woman sharply inhaled and sat up. “Are we there?” Her voice was groggy unlike just a moment ago.

 

“Just about,” Frieda confirmed.

 

“Wake me back up when we're there,” She sighed as she went back to her previous position, shutting her eyes to sleep.

 

There was a moment of quiet again. Cardon looked at the two in the front seat as he hoped for some kind of explanation. They said nothing so Cardon had to but in,  “What just happened?” 

 

Ellenor opened her dazed eyes again, looking back at him. “What?”

 

“You were talking,” Frieda told her. “Just a minute ago.”

 

“What was I saying?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. 

 

Flaring his nostrils, Cardon said, “It was weird.”

 

“I think it was the eye,” The driver said to the others. Cardon's face was further disgusted and confused. 

 

“Yeah, it's been loud lately,” Ellenor explained in a tone that was way too dismissive. She shut her eyes, ready to fall asleep again.

 

“What eye?” Cardon scoffed at the two women having a faux normal conversation. 

 

“I thought you knew,” Frieda glanced back at him for a second. “It was always open when we were together.”

 

Cardon's memory was refreshed as he was reminded. He thought about the freaky huge purple eyes that nervously darted about constantly. He flared his nostrils as he questioned, “So, you’re telling me that that thing can talk?”   
  


“It’s been antsy lately, almost impossible to control,” Ellenor  shut her eyes, shimmying back down into a comfortable position in her seat. Just like that, the big eye opened back up, willing for Ellenor to move her mouth again. Cardon saw as her lips got tight while trying to prevent it. 

 

“Two consciousnesses,” Cardon remarked. “That must be… frustrating.”

 

“We get along,” Ellenor shrugged. “For the most part.”

 

That made Cardon’s body rigid. “What happens when you don’t get along?”

 

Frieda chuckled under her breath as Ellenor answered, “Don’t worry; I’m completely in control. Just imagine it like a small child. It could do some mischief, but there’s a point to its capabilities.” 

 

“You’re saying that about an all-knowing being,” Cardon tried to rationalize his concern.

 

“We’re the same being,” Ellenor snapped at him. She whipped around to face him, all three of her eyes shooting daggers at him. Then her eyebrows went soft and she looked away. “At least I think we are.” Cardon cringed at how the purple eye continued to stared at him, its pupil still huge with the headlights shining directly into it. Could it even see? Was it functional? What was its purpose? 

 

“Hey!” Cardon pointed straight ahead. There was the first sign that displayed the mile marker to get to Petrozavodsk. “Yes, finally,” He sighed. He glanced to the clock that showed on the radio of the car. “Hopefully some stores will be open this early.”

 

“Stores?” Frieda narrowed her eyes.

 

“Of course. We need to get you all some costumes!”

 

Ellenor looked back to him. “What’s wrong with what we have?”

 

He cringed again. “No offense, but the jacket doesn’t exactly say ‘ringmaster’ to me.”

 

“It’s ringleader,” Ellenor corrected, blatantly offended.

 

Frieda pulled off into a vacant parking lot that had all of the fluorescent lights beaming from tall columns all over the various rows. Sure enough, the other cars veered off the road to follow her to park. Together, they all met up in the trailer that held the giant man. Cardon assumed it was because of the limited places the man could go. At least he was being included, Cardon wouldn’t know how to deal with being two stories tall. 

 

“Shouldn’t we start practicing?” July asked. Cardon sighed when some of the supers looked to him for an answer. 

 

“Perhaps you are all less prepared than I anticipated. Today we need to focus on makeup, costumes, and… presence if you will,” Cardon tried to think of the words he needed to explain. “We might also figure out how to get a message out. Good thing this is a conservative town.”

 

“What will that get us?” Lolias frowned at him.

 

“If I remember correctly, they’ll probably still have speakers and intercoms set up all over the city,” Cardon shrugged.

 

“You were  _ alive _ back then?” Eryk sounded appalled by the realization.

 

Cardon raised his eyebrows. “It’s rude to ask a lady their age.” He couldn’t help the smirk that grew on his face. “If I’m correct, it’s getting pretty late in the year. Hopefully some Halloween-esc things will be being sold.”

 

Havi, Gabe, Jamie, and Candy all gasped when they heard the holiday said. “I love Halloween,” Candy reminisced. “It’s been years since I celebrated it.”

 

“We never celebrated anything at the farm!” Havi whined.

 

“The only thing we'll be celebrating is opening night,” Cardon corrected. “No goofing off with random costumes. Take this seriously. Let's go.”

 

“Um,” Jerricho spoke up. “I'm pretty sure this place is closed.”

 

Cardon looked over his shoulder, out the trailer and towards the still dark building. It was a large superstore, likely selling much more than they needed from food to baby products to electronics. It would have to do for that time.

 

“How about we get some breakfast first?” Ellenor offered what everyone was thinking.

 

Everyone cheered to agree and then filed out to get to their own cars.

 

“Are you going to take me in like this?” Cardon raised an eyebrow at Ellenor as they started for the car. He would have held his wrists out to her, but the cuffs had been clasped behind his back.

 

“Are you sure you even want to?” Frieda asked, her nose scrunched up. “What if you’re recognized?”

 

“Of course I want to,” Cardon shook his head, thinking it was obvious. “I’d like some human interaction if that’s not too much to ask.”

 

“I can lend him a hat,” Ellenor offered, opening the trunk of the shining emerald car.

 

“What about my clothes?” Cardon hissed. “Or my bracelets?” He asked bitterly.

 

“I’m sure Kieren wouldn’t mind you wearing his clothes,” Frieda moved to get into the car without anymore interaction.

 

Cardon gritted his teeth. “There’s no way I’d fit into his clothes.” He looked to Ellenor, hoping it was one of the rare times that she would sympathize with him. “Let me get some of Eryk’s clothes; they’ll fit me.”

 

Ellenor looked down at him. For a moment, she looked to be almost hurt and disappointed. “I hope that you won’t betray my trust again, Cardon.”

 

“You have my word, Sergeant General Marie,” Cardon put on his best smile for her.

 

“Stop calling me that.”

 

She escorted him towards the white truck that Paul, Eryk, and Xander all chose to share with each other. For a moment, they were loud and jolly with each other, but when the three saw them approaching, they quieted. It would take a long time to get the supers to be comfortable around Cardon. He knew that. He was grateful that Ellenor was the one to occasionally take his side despite his unwavering fear of her and her power.

 

She gave orders to Eryk about the clothes, the cuffs, and the dampener. He’d still have to wear it, but no one could be able to see it. He was then told to hand the man off to Kieren and Isamu. The two of them, Ellenor said, would know what to do. Cardon watched as she walked away, talking to the plant wielding super, Tadaaki, while gesturing towards Kieren. 

Eryk was silent as he led Cardon to the back of the truck. He held out a single outfit for Xander to hold. The tall, blue haired man then walked around behind Cardon. He felt a slight pull to his wrists before the cuffs were freed from his arms. Telekinesis was a nifty thing. Cardon smiled, imagining himself with such a power, but decided he wouldn't trade his own power for anything.

 

He yawned dramatically, stretching his arms, wrists, hands, and fingers at the same time. The way his muscles loosened immediately made him feel like he was free from a cast of clay. He knew it wouldn’t last long, so he’d bask in it when he still had the chance.

 

For a while at the small deserted restaurant they went to, everyone was silent. Cardon knew the tension he caused between everyone and it was the small edge he had against them. Later into the meal, Cardon was shocked at how rowdy the group could be. The night before, they were quiet in civil conversation. It was a completely different aura that morning. Each of the supers had split into different groups that caused different interactions completely. Almost all the talking was incoherent to Cardon, some even in different languages. He cursed, wishing to use his power. 

 

He glanced behind himself to see Ellenor speaking with Frieda, but the scene made him do a double take. In a large booth table, Ellenor sat with the man with the growing afro, Pete. He held onto the two boys who he was always accompanied with, keeping them from fighting with each other. No surprises. But across the table, the sheep-like girl leaned against Ellenor's shoulder while sitting on the back on the chair. Ellenor bounced her leg with another smaller child sitting on her. The boy with the brilliant white hair, Vivian, tried to grab the knee that he sat on every time it was raised. On the other side, a small girl held onto the woman's side as Ellenor stroked her hair. Cardon stared for a moment before turning back around. He continued to frown as he attempted to make some kind of conclusion about what he'd seen, but he couldn't. Why did he feel that way?

 

Information provided by Vivica and relayed to the group by Jerricho told that the store opened in ten minutes. Cardon was impressed with how the two worked together, but they'd be useless without each other. He wasn't impressed by their powers.

 

Ellenor simply stood up from her seat at the booth and that made every other person stand up. Cardon looked around to gauge different faces, but they all seemed to still be invested in different conversation. Even the rebellious Kieren followed the implied instructions. 

 

Cardon was handed over to the small group that Kieren hung out with. Scarred man, pretty boy, and plant guy as Cardon called them. He knew everyone's name, but he struggled to assign those names to the right people. Why did there have to be so many of them? It was those who left their mark on Cardon that he could remember the names of. 

 

Normally, Cardon would prefer to buy fabric and make the costumes that he'd use, but the Sergeant General was insistent that they get this started immediately. He didn't mind them using garbage outfits, but it just meant they'd have to buy more later.

 

As anyone could have guessed, the workers at the massive superstore were not happy when the group of twenty walked in as soon as they were opening. Good thing Cardon didn't care. The store was mostly white inside, sucking the life out of everything that held color. It smelled like a department store from centuries ago. Freezers right by the entrance made a wave of cold rush through whoever entered. It was as inviting as any other corporate run establishment.

 

They headed straight for the clothing department, having to wrangle the smaller kids to not run off to look at whatever they wanted. Cardon wanted to bark at them, but the handsome Pete told them something softly and they immediately hushed. 

 

Hanging on seasonal display were the most basic crudely-packaged outfits. Witch with fishnets, nurse with syringe, cowboy with fringed caps. Cardon flared his nostrils at them. They were worse than he was imagining.

 

He glanced to the others who just stared at the costumes and him. “Well?” He asked them. “What are you waiting for?” Everyone had already been told what kind of act they would be performing, and so they should have been ready to dive in. “I'll be at the dressing rooms. I expect to see everyone put at least one outfit on.”

 

He walked away just in time for the talking to burst out between everyone. Letting out a sigh, he spotted his goal, a grated gray bench. It was set up right in front of the dressing room labeled as “All-gender.” He took a deep breath, flutterinh his eyes shut. For once, he was finally alone.

 

He felt the brush of a loose pant leg at his side. As subtle as he could manage, Cardon cracked open an eye. Next to him sat the woman with the vibrant golden brown hair and triangular shaped glasses.

 

“Still won't perform?” Cardon asked her, adjusting himself to get more comfortable.

 

“No,” She said uncharacteristically softly. “I agreed with you to make you shut up.”

 

“I can't wait to hear how disappointed your wife will be,” He wanted her to bicker at him, but she remained quiet as voices approached. 

 

“Hey, Cardon,” Pete spoke to him with a cheery smile. He frowned as he opened his eyes to see the man with two boys hanging onto him. “I'm just going to get this. These kids are too restless.”

 

“Didn't I tell you that your power wasn't applicable?” Cardon had to explain his reason multiple times to the adamant man.

 

“Yes, but you didn't listen,” Pete threw a huge blood red cloak onto the bench. “Don't you think people will be fascinated to see the missing Prince Pietro Khumalo?”

 

Cardon sat up. “The Prince who was overthrown by his sister in Swaziland?” Cardon pointed at him. Pete gave a small shrug. “You're joking…”

 

“I didn't believe it when we met too,” Frieda admitted. “But apparently his sister sold him to the Provencal army, hoping he'd die in combat.”

 

“And what a cool she was,” Pete smiled. “Can't kill the unkillable.”

 

Cardon accepted the offer given by Pete, allowing him to explore the store with the younger boys. 

 

“I have no idea how you managed to get such a group together,” Cardon scoffed. “This fate between all of you is ridiculous.”

 

“Ellenor doesn't believe in fate,” Frieda said. Cardon expected her to elaborate, but that was it. Instead, she turned her head down towards the small paper she held onto. Cardon recognized most of the sketches she had as parts of the gun she constantly worked on. She had things scrawled next to it, questioning how it worked. It was difficult to read her handwriting with the blue ink pen spilling and smudging the white paper.

 

Vivica and Jerricho came to the dressing room, showing Cardon two of the same outfit with different colors. One purple and one blue fortune-teller costume both packed into a crinkled plastic bag. It had golden accents all around it. He didn’t know who, but he was sure the outfit was offensive to someone. Their outfits fit no issues, even hiding most of Vivica’s robotic parts.

 

July and Candy came to the back with two bodysuits, each colored green and pink respectively. July strutted around in hers, showing off her long slender legs and confident shoulders. However, Candy complained about how it pulled at her in all the wrong places. Cardon had to make sure that she didn’t get a bigger size, since it fit her how it was supposed to. He warned her that she’d have to get used to it. He gave them both the okay even though he didn’t like how they chose different colors.

 

Kieren put on a skimpy crop top and shorts in the dressing room. He showed to Cardon all of the ways he could possibly put his hair for the show. The older man agreed that the ponytail would fit the aethstetic the best. The young man had also picked out a skin tight dri-fit shirt for Isamu as well as a tight pair of black pants. The only hint of color in the outfit was the silver buckle of the belt that Kieren had also picked out. Cardon didn’t like how the color was taken away from Isamu, but feared disagreeing with the man.

 

Bea came back while sitting on the shoulders of Eryk with an irritating look on her face. When Eryk threw down his own costume, she complained that nothing was her size. Eryk defended that the girl was only looking in the junior section. Cardon didn't know how old the girl was, but he could guess that she was older than she looked by the way she looked. He recommended that the girl instead look into the younger section. She pouted and complained at that, only confusing Cardon more about her age. He recommended to her that she should dig into the fact that she was so small and childish. She sighed without anymore complaining, she left with Eryk to try again.

 

The reluctant Sach was the next to visit Cardon at the bench. By the time he arrived, the clothes were piling up from the other supers. Cardon was happy to have such a good-looking guy on the roster, but Sachi was insistent that he didn't want anything to do with the plan. His companion who was always by his side, Tadaaki, usually didn't participate in the conversation. Sachi showed what he had chosen. It was an all white tunic with even whiter pants. Cardon frowned, but still allowed for him to try it on. The bearded man was surprised to see how the outfit complimented him. The loose fitting clothes showed off his intense collarbones and ample hips. Tadaaki wore a costume titled ‘Castaway’ which was torn about, making him look foolish from the outside. Cardon on the other hand knew that it would feed into his nature gimmick.

 

When the store truly started to bustle, Camelia stopped into the dressing room with multiple costumes. One was hippie-esc, showing off many tie-dye patterns. The other was all primary colors in a weird mix. The last was all rainbow filled with many implications of being a unicorn. Cardon showed his distaste. He didn't know how to dress her to make she stand out in the shadows. He suggested one bright color instead of the mixing she was trying to do. She left to look for a better fit.

 

Just after Frieda commented on her not being seen, Ellenor appeared in front of the two of them. She had a single pair of pants slung over her arm. Cardon stood, squinting at it.

 

“What's this?” He asked her.

 

“It's all I need,” She said, half into the bill of the hat that covered her face. Cardon watched her carefully, noticing how her eyes lingered on the blue jacket covering her arm.

 

“Don't tell me you plan on wearing that hideous thing,” Cardon rolled his eyes at her.

 

“How else will people know who I am?” Ellenor hissed.

 

He shook his head at her. “People aren't going to be told, they're going to assume. I thought you didn't want to be Sergeant General anymore.” Ellenor averted her eyes. “Come back with a ringmaster costume and nothing else.”

 

“It's ringleader,” She corrected before walking away again.

 

At check out, Cardon had to look away at the machine that displayed such a hefty sum. It pained him to know that money was going away. He couldn't believe how Vivica simply put her hand to Frieda's and the two of them paid the money together. He knew Frieda was powerful, but he could tell that she lacked control. Dependency was a common occurrence he kept seeing.

 

Just as they were about to walk out of the store, something caught Cardon's eye. A young woman used a walkie talkie pinned to her shoulder.

 

He grabbed Vivica to get her to notice. “Can you hook me up to one of those things like you just did?” He pointed to clarify, but the girl said nothing.

 

“Eryk,” Jerricho called out in the group. Cardon swallowed hard, scared of retribution. “Pull one of those off,” Jerricho pointed to the pinned device of the woman's shoulder. Cardon was surprised that something was being accomplished by his command.

 

Before he could even see it, the microphone was in Eryk's hand, giving it to Cardon. “Don't do anything stupid,” He whispered. The blue-haired man placed a hand upon the dampener under Cardon's shirt and pulled it off. 

 

The older man felt the surge of power rush over him. Once again, he could hear conversations a mile away, understand languages he didn't know, and best of all, whisper and be heard. Together, Vivica and Cardon held the device and he whispered.

 

Over the intercom through the entire store, his words rang out as he altered his voice to be much more announcer-like in hopes of keeping his identity,

 

“This night and this night only, come to the show of a lifetime at the Petrozavodsk pier! Wonders that will stump the most clever of minds! Magic that will confuse the genius! Come to the Petrozavodsk pier tonight for--!” Cardon was excited but he had to stop when he realized a detail he didn't know. He ceased his power and looked back to Ellenor. “What the hell is your show called?”

 

“You!” Someone yelled, directing Cardon's attention back into the store. The girl who they had stolen the makeshift microphone from was pointing at them with a huge burly woman next to her. The word 'SECURITY’ was pasted across her chest.

 

“Time to go!” Cardon whipped around, picking up Vivica and running for the door. The other supers were already bolting too. Cardon was breathing so hard in a panic. He'd never been caught so easily. Despite his worried disposition, the supers were laughing. Some of them cracking jokes and being exuberant about their situation.

 

They sprinted into the cars and sped away faster than Cardon could have ever imagined. If he had this kind of hustle with his own drag queens, they never would have been caught.

 

Cardon looked back, watching as the muscular woman was speaking into her shoulder. He squinted in attempt to read her lips. He caught a weird combination of numbers and letters.

 

“She knows our license plates,” Cardon said, even more panicky. He had never been so worried. He didn't want everyone to turn on him again.

 

“Don't worry,” Eryk turned around from the front passenger seat. He held up several plates. “We're covered.”

 

Cardon laughed in relief. He wanted to call the man a genius, but he held his tongue.

 

For a while, the convoy of cars sped down the road, but eventually slowed to blend in with the rest of traffic. Looking out the windows, Cardon looked at the different smiles in the different cars. He could tell that they continued to jest about the sudden fleeing.

 

They drove deeper into Petrozavodsk until the very edge, getting closer to the lake that sat on the eastern side of the town. Eryk and Xander started to make bets about who would be the control freak that night, Frieda or Ellenor. Cardon waged his bet on Frieda. The few others laughed.

 

When the pier was in sight, with no one else there, Cardon's heart raced a little. He had only been focusing on how he was being bossed around, but he realized how he could finally have his voice heard again.

 

He stuck around with Xander, Paul, and Eryk when they exited the car. They were surprisingly friendly as they told stories about being almost caught a hundred times over. Cardon felt warm inside and almost happy, but it didn't last long. Frieda approached, holding the cuffs that were the constant reminder of what he was truly there for.

 

“Come on,” He whined to her with a smirk even though she hadn't said anything. “Let me have at least the rest of the day. It's opening night! We should be celebrating, not arresting.” Frieda gave him a knowing look. She almost started to speak, but he interjected to make his case. “There's a lot of practicing to get done and I have to be there, you know that. I'm no use if I can't clap or snap.”

 

Frieda took in a deep breath and released it with exhaustion. She grabbed Cardon's hands, bringing them up into the silver braces. “Don't say I never did anything for you.” She clasped them together in front of him, not forcing him to hold his arms behind his back.

 

“So cold,” Cardon whispered to her.

 

“Don't think it's not without cause,” Eryk answered. He was lacking the same smile that he once showed. Cardon shrugged and shook his head. He knew he wouldn't be getting his way anytime soon.

 

Right there on the pier is where it began. Camelia practiced making the tent canvas, setting it up with her own stakes. She remade it over and over until Cardon said it was perfect. She had to make it perfect three times over before he let her rest. Bea would Pop as high as she could and dive into the lake below only to Pop again, completely dry and in an adorable pose. Cardon was happy with her ability to hide her unusable leg, but she was incapable of hiding the fact that she was floating. Cardon made her practice until she was completely on the ground without a hint of her power. She told him that she hadn't stood in two months. He couldn't empathize. Jerricho and Vivica had to prove their abilities to zone in on a single device. The information she could pull out was amazing. Cardon wondered how her power worked on the receiving end. Pete walked up to Cardon, showing off the cloak that he had bought. He again wasn't impressed. He reaffirmed that he didn't want the former Prince performing and that he'd have to figure out a real act instead. Sachi showed up right when Pete was walking away. His eyes were red as if he had been crying. Cardon thought to ask, but the harsh look that Tadaaki gave him told him to keep quiet. Using his power, Sachi inflicted emotion into Cardon by his command. For a moment, a wave of horrible guilt washed over him before he became enlightened and excited. Cardon sighed in response. He warned Sachi that if their plan was to work, he would have to put his own emotions aside and focus on the emotions he wished to invoke. Cardon found no joy in scolding him. Tadaaki told Cardon he planned to completely sunbathe before the beginning of the show and he didn't want to use any energy beforehand. It was typical of performers to do something like that, not eat before, or not practice before. It was something superstitious that Cardon didn't subscribe to. Candy and July showed off what they had learned while doing acrobatics on the massive structures that Camelia built around them. Cardon told the young Cuban girl that she should wait until the last second to make her structures in order to leave the audience curious. Cardon didn't comment on how Candy lacked the same professional look that July had in her movements. Eryk practiced pickpocketing on Cardon, pulling simple items away from him. Eryk asked how he would know who to choose in the audience. Cardon said the quietest most interested. That way, they will become that way. Kieren and Isamu stopped in to check if they were alright, but Kieren seemed to discredit any corrections made to his power. Kieren showed off how he could then make a rose and face out of fire. Cardon liked the idea of putting a mask on Isamu similar to a blindfold. Kieren acted like he wasn't intrigued by the idea, but Cardon knew he would do as he was told. Ellenor was the last to visit the pier.

 

She walked up with the two lions at her sides, introducing them to Cardon as Geo on the left and Malzya on the right. She explained how she had saved them from an abusive owner. He wondered how they acted so tame around her, but it was almost explained. How did they know that she had saved them?

 

“I've finally got the walk,” Ellenor tilted her chin up in confidence. 

 

Cardon smiled back, “Let's see it.”

 

Sure enough, Ellenor approached him with no limp and no support, the lions following her exact stride.

 

“That's excellent,” Cardon praised her. “Long way in a short time, huh?”

 

Ellenor laughed. “That's my specialty.”

 

“I think it's time,” Cardon stood from his placement on a log. Ellenor nodded.

 

Together, she, Cardon, Eryk, Jerricho, and Vivica headed into the city of Petrozavodsk where lights started to illuminate the streets. Color made the town come to life as people exercising ran down the sidewalks in bright colors, televisions with news played for all to see, and businesses displayed their logos for customers. 

 

Once Jerricho informed them that they had reached the direct center of town, Eryk pulled the car off to the side of the street. Other cars zipped by and through the flashing stop lights. Before exiting the small vehicle, Eryk once again removed Cardon's cuffs. Cardon took in a deep breath of the wonderful city air that he lived for.

 

“This way,” Jerricho said leading the way. Cardon couldn't help but snicker at the smallest of the entourage being in charge when Eryk was a bodybuilder type, Cardon was a convicted felon, and Ellenor was the most decorated soldier in the world. 

 

Cardon kept his eyes forward, hoping to not catch any eyes that were most definitely staring at the newcomers. He followed blindly through the Halloween decorated strip back behind a store. The alleyway loomed over them. Comparatively, the alley was dark as the bright lights of the town only leaked into it. If they were apprehended, they would be trapped. He took a deep breath. Ellenor would say something before that.

 

“It's that,” Jerricho pointed up at a small box that was mounted onto the wall. It was a gray metal that had a single hint of color in a bright yellow triangle that displayed, 'DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE.’ Cardon was nervous about that. 

 

“How are we going to get up there?” Cardon scoffed at the younger girls. “This is impossible.”

 

“Don't be pessimistic,” Ellenor warned him, placing herself in between him and the others. “All you have to do is trust each other.” Cardon frowned at her. He would never understand her absurd ideology.

 

“Eryk can pull us up there,” Jerricho walked up to grab the other man. “Can you do that?”

 

Eryk studied it for a moment before nodding. “I think I can grab onto that thing,” He pointed at a wide piece of conduit that ran up from the box until turning to connect with the roof where it led to the speakers.

 

Jerricho gasped slightly. All eyes turned to her. “Vivica says it has to be Cardon and her.”

 

Eryk cringed at that, but said, “Okay.” 

 

Vivica grabbed Cardon's hand, leading him towards the waiting Eryk. For a moment, the two older men looked down at Vivica, waiting for her next move.

 

“She says remove his dampener,” Jerricho called out. Eryk shook his head before willfully taking it off where it was pinned to his chest and setting it down on the ground. It couldn't be held onto by any other super as everyone's power was a necessity. Cardon wouldn't admit that.

 

Cardon took a deep shuddering breath as his power returned to him. The moment was beautiful reminiscent of when his power came to him. He was so happy to have it returned and it would be just was overwhelmingly perfect every time they let him have it again.

 

“How much do you weigh, old man?” Eryk asked Cardon. He couldn't help but laugh at the phrasing. Eryk wrapped his arm around Cardon, just above the waist, and Cardon wrapped his arm around Vivica the same way. There was a stifled silence that came over, as they didn't know if it was going to work. 

 

“Now!” Ellenor urgently whispered. 

 

With that, Eryk threw his arm into the sky, pointing at the silver metal and pulled with all his might. It shifted first, which was disheartening, but then it settled and the three of them went flying. Cardon couldn't help but yelp. He felt incredibly heavy as his body tried to rip itself away from Eryk and go back to the ground. However, the instant Eryk released his power, it could be felt. It was an enormous relief that made them all feel weightless as the three arched through the alley and towards the wall. Cardon saw the huge set of bricks coming towards him at an alarming speed and started to wildly curse. He shut hus eyes as tight as possible to braced for impact. There was a thump. Weirdly, Cardon didn't feel any pain. He opened his eyes to see that Eryk had moved his body in order for only him to hit the wall. He held onto the pole of metal and took a deep breath. Then he let his grip on it go loose a couple of times. Cardon whispered at him that they were going to die until he heard it. He looked down to see that Eryk's feet had landed on the high voltage box. He didn't anticipate seeing the ground below, which made his stomach turn over. 

 

Vivica started to wiggle in Cardon's grasp. He looked back to see her trying to reach for the box. As gently, and therefore slowly as he could, he lowered Vivica down until she was face to face with the warning sign. Eryk asked if they were insane. The robotic girl slammed her hand on the box, making it sent and then limply swing open. She then looked around inside for a moment before just shoving her hand inside all of the wiring. She looked up to Cardon and nodded. He took a deep breath. Using his powers, he made his own voice quiet, but yelled with all his might. From where they were, they could hear the city boom with his message.

 

“One night and one night only, the city of Petrozavodsk is blessed with the chance of a lifetime! See unexplainable magic, incredible freaks, wonderful tricks! We invite you to the Petrozavodsk pier at eight o'clock tonight to see…” Cardon paused. He still didn't know the name of their stupid show. “The circus!” He finished.

 

“We need to go!” They could hear Ellenor whisper. “Hurry!” 

 

Eryk lept off of the box, sailing straight towards the ground. Cardon almost screamed, but their descent was slowed at the last second. Together they all jogged out of the alley, but walked to the car. When they started it, they noticed a police officer walk by, heading for the same alley. They drove off without another thought.

 

Back on the east side of Petrozavodsk, the pier was illuminated with two huge contractor lights which were aimed right at a massive tent made of beautiful silky shadows. It was better than any of the practice tents that Camelia had shown. The tent was set up right where the grass met the pier. Behind on the wooden path that led to the water, a much narrower tent had been built. Cardon smiled, excited to know that they were all actually practicing. He thought he was excited, but Ellenor almost ran into the tent, straight to the others.

 

When they entered the tent, over a hundred chairs had been set up, all made of the same familiar darkness. In front of those chairs was a massive stage that rounded into the majority of space. Ellenor did run when inside, jumping up onto the stage and throwing her arms out dramatically. She laughed like a child before rushing back stage. Cardon followed with less haste. As he walked, he called out that showtime was in thirty minutes.

 

In the first branch off from the tent, Frieda sat hunched over working on the gun with two lazy lions perched at her feet. Behind her hung the ringmaster's costume complete with a massive top hat. In the next small section, Kieren was gently placing a mask onto Isamu's face. They were both in their entire costumes. As he continued, he saw the fortune tellers’ outfits, waiting to be put on. He saw Sachi pacing around a room whispering, “Think happy thoughts,” while Tadaaki played with a small clump of dirt that held a clover. He then saw Bea standing and limping. She was working her leg to make sure it still worked. The biggest of the smaller tents had three girls and one other. Camelia worked on making simple shapes while Candy and July talked with Xander. Camelia seemed to be able to grab shadows out of thin air. Everything seemed beautifully ready.

 

Cardon headed back up towards the main tent. He went back until he saw Ellenor getting dressed in her outfit. She was mostly dressed aside from the bright red jacket with the golden shoulder pads.

 

“I look ridiculous,” Ellenor turned around to show her outfit to Cardon. The lions at either of her sides looked at her with curiosity, as if they understood her words. She wore her own boots that he assumed were part of her previous uniform on top of a pair of fishnet stockings. Skimpy shorts with suspenders and a tight blouse showed off curves that few knew she had. It would all come together with the final tailcoat.

 

“I think it looks good,” Frieda said with a bright smile. Cardon nodded in agreement, though his praise wasn't under the same implications as Frieda's.

 

“This isn't anything like me,” Ellenor continued to complain. 

 

Cardon shook his head as he approached. “Tonight, you're not you,” He reached up and grabbed the jacket. “From now on, don't be Sergeant General Marie,” He handed the jacket to her. “Be Ringmaster Marie.”

 

“It's ringleader,” She corrected again. “And it's Marie-Perime.”

 

She threw on the jacket with a precision that spoke of practice. “Let’s get this show started.”

 

With a lion on her right and a lioness on her left she headed for the stage. Quiet voices could be heard from the other side of the dropped curtain. Cardon’s heart swelled in his chest. He couldn’t believe this was actually going to work. 

 

He glanced to see Ellenor trying to hold down a massive smile. She looked straight ahead, ready for her act to commence, but then she abruptly turned to face Cardon.

 

“You’ll watch me, won’t you? I mean, watch us?” Ellenor was plenty taller than him, especially with her boots on, but she acted like an excited child. Cardon couldn’t blame her.

 

“Not with these on,” Cardon held up his wrists, showing her the cuffs that bound him. “I’ll stick out like a sore thumb.” Ellenor swiftly pulled them off with no question.

 

“Hurry,” She told him. “Five minutes.”

 

Cardon nodded, “Okay, okay.”

 

He hurried out of the tent, walking around to sit in the shadow-chairs. When he saw the other cars parked in the grass next to the pier, he considered telling how he was a captive. But then laughed. He’d be turned in within the hour. He approached the opening of the tent, hearing English in strange accents and Russian in rugged dialects. He grabbed the pure darkness and flung it open. He was just in time for the show to start.


	204. Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's show time.

Ellenor’s nerves were outmatched by her enthusiasm. She was grateful for that because she'd need every ounce of confidence to power through the pain that walking straight and tall brought her. She placed the top hat on her head, carefully hiding her eye under it. After checking on Malzya and Geo's fur one last time, she stood up with all her might and headed out onto the stage.

 

She started, “Good…” Before whipping open the curtains wide enough for her and her two furry companions to join her. “Evening, ladies, gentlemen, and everything in between!” Ellenor flashed the biggest smile she could manage and took the pose that Cardon had taught her a hundred times over. She held it for a pause that he told her to take and her heart dropped.

 

In the third row, supers who weren't participating watched, Cardon included. They looked enthralled. But the audience was… tiny. A couple in the front row, more scattered about, and a slightly bigger group sat in the very back. Who would willingly sit twenty-five rows away from the stage?

 

Ellenor's smile turned to gritted teeth. She made sure that Cardon saw it. She flipped her switch back into what she had been taught, introducing her two lions.

 

At first, they circled around her as she spoke. She told the crowd that they weren't like normal lions. She showed how they could do simple tricks just like any domesticated dog. Sit, come, speak. Ellenor then told the two to play dead. Malzya dropped without a problem. Geo, however, looked at her with a craned neck. “Geo,” She planted her hands on his hips to scold him. He then closed his eyes and turned his back to her. A few people in the audience actually laughed. “Fine,” Ellenor spoke in a teasing voice as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I'll just have to give your treats to your sister.” Then Geo dropped, showing off his white stomach and even sticking his tongue out. More laughs rang out. It was all part of the routine. She was astonished that people actually enjoyed what she was doing. Geo was actually the more obedient of the two lions and Ellenor didn't get the appeal of one of them misbehaving. She supposed she'd been proven wrong in that sense. 

 

After the introduction, Ellenor could truly get into her act.

 

“Hurtle!” Ellenor commanded. Malzya dropped her head and Geo jumped over her, landing back on the stage with nimble and light feet. The audience gasped slightly.

 

“Hoist!” Ellenor yelled again, her enthusiasm sparking again. While Geo flipped over onto his stomach, Malzya climbed to stand on top of his paws.

 

“Vault!” Geo then compacted only to immediately throw his legs out as long as they went. Malzya was only launched up a foot, but the fact that Geo caught her was impressive. Ellenor was then struck with a vision. She reached out to try and help the two, but it was too late. She gasped as Malzya slipped off of the other lion’s revealed paws, landing right on his chest. This have happened one time before. Ellenor hadn't prepared for if it happened again. She almost turned to ask for help, but an ounce of luck was left within her. The two lions hugged each other, Malzya even licking her counterpart. A collective “aw” rang out in the audience. The rest of Ellenor's routine ran smoothly. She counted her blessings for that.

 

Next up on stage was Tadaaki. He loathed that he was being placed up there instead of someone who actually wished to perform, but was held back by their powers. Who was Cardon to decide whether they could perform or not? His choices were bizarre. Tadaaki would never accept them. In reality, Tadaaki knew he was probably upset that he had to make a fool of himself while using his power. 

 

Tadaaki glanced around the stage as if he was lost before actually stepping onto the platform made of shadows. He felt his nerves building as the crowd stared at him in confusion and expectation. At least his nerves added to his persona. His eyes moved from person to person in the chairs. He almost quit right there before a familiar feeling infiltrated his mind. He could feel Sachi warping his emotions into something more pleasant and comforting. He relaxed. 

 

Then, he was clicked back into his act as he saw the outline of a square form a meter away from him and open up. He backed up to act like he was in fear. Then a hand came up from under the stage, waving to the audience. There was laughing. Tadaaki flared his nostrils. Then, up from the hand, a potted plant was placed on the stage. The hand shut the makeshift hatch and left Tadaaki alone with the plant. 

 

He had to look around more confused, which earned more confused laughter from the crowd. However, while Tadaaki pretended to be looking around, the plant started to grow, up and up, until it was a foot taller than him. He gasped and stood completely still while the plant sprouted two appendages resembling arms with hands. Tadaaki had to focus hard to make one of the fingers gesture for him to come closer. It was hard to focus on such a small part of the plant that made the other parts tremble. Tadaaki pointed to himself as if to ask “me?” The green finger pointed and gestured again. Tadaaki approached with fake caution, glancing to the audience to ask for help. When he was close enough, the plant punched him square in the jaw. Or at least, he hoped it looked convincing enough. The crowd gasped, someone in the back row even standing up in shock. Tadaaki then squared his shoulders up to his fake opponent. He threw a few punches, but he made sure the plant curved around his fists so it never hit. He acted like he was hit several more times before the final blow to his nose. He laid on the ground with his eyes shut. 

 

He'd never controlled plants with his eyes closed, but he hoped for the best. Willing the plant to wrap around his ankles, Tadaaki was lifted up off the stage and into the air. He cracked an eye open to make sure he had properly made a terrifying looking mouth shape. With a simple release, was dropped in. He allowed for the plant and its various branches to exactly wrap around him. That way he would at least know he was making a humanoid shape. Raising his arms up, he flexed in different poses, pretending to show off muscles. He could hear flirtatious whistling from outside. Tadaaki kept the form he made, but started to thrash around inside until he burst out. 

 

When on the stage, he made the plant shrink back to its original form. For a moment, Tadaaki looked lost, but then burst into a triumphant smile, showing off his true biceps. The crowd actually cheered for him. Especially the man all the way in the very back row who had stood up when he was punched. Tadaaki bowed slightly before hurrying backstage. 

 

As soon as he was free from the eyes, Tadaaki rolled his head and slumped his shoulders. He thanked Amaterasu that it was over.

 

Without any words, Sachi walked past him, a gentle smile on his face. He headed for the stage morphing his expression into a gorgeous smile. He pushed his hair back one last time before stepping past the curtain. There was slight whispering, but it was hushed as soon as his foot hit the ground. He was impressed that anyone had showed up at all. He was half expecting a repeat of the night in the campground.

 

Sachi almost choked up as soon as he met eyes with Cardon. He was just watching and sitting as if he had never done anything wrong to them. The man sat among his friends as if he was one of them. He sat with those who had no reason to perform because that was what he had determined. It reminded Sachi of who wished to be out there or up there with the rest of them. While Isamu was going to be abused in front of the audience, Lolias was shut away in a cramped space. Their pain rang out in his mind more than anyone else’s. He wished he could hear Isamu to know that he didn’t want this for his friend forced himself to smile through it all. It was more painful than the truth.

 

Sachi for a moment felt that it was all too late for him to continue with his routine. He was already tearing up while he was thinking about the misery that only he saw or at least acknowledged. But then his purpose was filled in his heart as the anticipation in the sounds produced by the crowd overwhelmed him. He reached out to the group with his mind, just as Cardon had told him to do, but then he went out further and further, infiltrating everyone he could. With all his might, he invoked enthusiasm, excitement, and hope.

 

“You!” Sachi pointed to the couple in the front row. “You two are in love, yes?” The two young men, barely younger than Sachi, glanced at each other, blushed, and nodded. “Join me on stage, won’t you?”

 

One of them, with curled deep black hair hopped up, not even considering the steps, and immediately turned around to help up the other with a massive birthmark over his right eye.

 

“What’s your name?” Sachi asked them, truly curious.

 

“Jean,” The one with a birthmark answered. His rugged accent didn’t match the beautiful sound that his mind made of smooth string bass plucking.

 

“Ovdei,” The other answered. His accent was even deeper with his incredibly low voice. His sound sang to Sachi, making him intrigued by the combination that the two held with each other. It was a low humming that occasionally shifted up and down in the key of G major.

 

“Alright you two, go ahead and stand separately, if you can take it,” Sachi said. They chuckled slightly, parting ways to stand on either sides of the stage. 

 

“Now,” He pointed to Ovedi. “I want you to think of a song. Any song you want,” Sachi explained, “But try to make it a song your lover doesn’t know, and would never know for any reason.”

 

He frowned and thought for a long moment, but Sachi had selected the more confident of the two to test it on, so he was done fast enough.

 

“Okay,” He confirmed that he thought of one.

 

“Now,” Sachi continued. “Think of the melody, the bassline, every detail you can come up with about it, and play it over and over in your head.” He nodded to the instructions. He shut his eyes. As he did, Sachi could already hear the song resonating inside of the sound of humming. “Make sure you keep focusing just like that.”

 

He headed over to the other young man, Jean. The sound of strings being plucked was becoming confused and messy, but still excited for what was to come. “You will now listen and listen hard. As soon as you can hear it just right, tell me.” Sachi himself focused on the other boy's mind. He took a deep breath before reformulating the same melody that he produced inside his own head. He replayed it as many times over as he could until he was positive he had it. Only when he was certain, he pushed that same sound towards Jean.

 

He gasped, “I hear it! I hear it!”

 

“Okay,” Sachi smiled wide, amazed that it worked on strangers. “Now on three, I want you both to sing it outloud. Don't be shy and make sure everyone in the back can hear you too.” They looked with doubt, but looked back out to the crowd. “One… two… three!”

 

Sure enough, the two sang together. It was a lullaby that told of a mother loving who she sang down to. For a moment, Ovedi dropped out of the singing, completely struck. Before he jumped right back into the song, he giggled shyly. As they sang, Sachi forced his will into the sounds of other, invoking as much emotion at once as he could manage. He couldn't believe that it caused the audience to stand and clap for the two men. They sat down after a brief bow. Sachi excused himself offstage afterward.

 

July, Candy, and Camelia all waited for him with their eyebrows raised high. He smiled at their reactions, actually proud of himself. “Way to make it easy to follow your act,” July said with a chuckle.

 

“I don't think we'll have a problem,” Kieren came from behind the three girls, dragging Isamu behind him. The lanky man slammed his shoulder directly into Sachi as he passed. Isamu kept his eyes down.

 

The two of them were jumping the gun, as they were told to go last by Cardon. To “go out with a bang,” he said. Kieren didn't realize what that meant, but with every round of applause envy was a permeating thing within him. His foot tapping accompanied by Isamu's silence pissed him off enough to move to the front of the tents. When he reached it, he could then hear the cheering for Sachi which made his nose curl. What could a weakling like him do to get so much attention? The stage belonged to him long before Camelia had ever made it manifest.  

 

There was an immediate quieting of cheers as Kieren approached the wide space where he'd make his mark. He had seen three dozen movies about every magician, living and dead. His plan was to mimic the same idea that they showed off.

 

He smirked at the crowd in the chairs, eyeing how Cardon glared at him. It only made his grin wider. In the crowd, he counted a mere thirty-six people. He held in a sign. It would have to do for that time.

 

Kieren took Isamu's hand, pulling him to face him. He brought the hand up to his face, placing his lips against the rough knuckles. That look that he held still told of his disobedience. It irritated Kieren to his very core that Isamu had been moody ever since the stupid giant tried to shoot himself. Isamu dared to push Kieren away over and over, always ending with Kieren disciplining him. One day, the older man would learn his place. That's why Kieren had to choose his outfit, to make sure Isamu hid the hideous bruises he kept getting.

 

Kieren kissed his hand again and again, working his way up to the man's shoulder. He gently moved his body to let Isamu face the crowd. Kieren knew that one day he'd be able to leave the disgusting supers behind and perform on his own. Alone. His spotlight. Those thoughts kept him going.  

 

He worked his way to the scarred shoulder. Holding it tenderly in his hand. Just as he kissed it one last time, he spewed flames onto it. The crowd gasped as it happened. The fire spread down as if his arm was there to be consumed by the flames. Kieren then walked around to see Isamu's face, but to show the audience both of their profiles. Kieren raised his own hand up as the one of flames raised to mirror his movements. He then took it in his hand, clasping it like two lovers. The flames went out, leaving behind a materialized metal arm. Kieren smiled with the audience's shocked reaction.

 

He then leaned into Isamu, still holding the hand. Gently, the two started to dance a simple waltz across the stage. The lack of music made Isamu’s steps be slow and uneven. Kieren had warned him to think of a song, but his nerves probably got the best of him.

 

Kieren guided him until he faced the crowd. After, he swirled around to stand behind the scarred man. With the flick of his wrist, flames cascaded down from Kieren’s hands and down to the shadowy stage. It swirled around. He tried to focus in order to make the closest to a chair shape he could manage, but he didn’t want it to collapse. He settled for a simple box shape. With single touch the fire solidified. He then placed both his boney hands on top of Isamu’s shoulders, pushing him down to sit. 

 

Once down, Isamu craned his neck backwards to allow for the two to meet eyes. While Kieren smiled, Isamu still held his jaded expression. Kieren only smiled back. No one would ruin this for him. He leaned down and gently kissed his sitting companion. He took the other man’s face in both of his hands and let the fire consume his entire face, solidifying it as it went. When finished, he took a step back so his real routine could start.

 

In his own dramatic way, Kieren lifted his hands up towards the ceiling made of shadowed canvas. The flames whipped upward, almost touching the very top. There was a gasp from the crowd, but Kieren toned it down to a manageable size that he then turned into his favorite weapon. He showed it off while it was still red hot. 

 

He slowly brought it down, flipping it around his wrist to catch it in his hand again. Tenderly, he tapped Isamu’s neck with it. His grin was impossible to hold down as he circled around to the back of the metal box again. He ran his hand along the blade on last time before stabbing it through the middle of Isamu’s chest. Of course it deteriorated before it could truly penetrate any skin, but Kieren made the fire warp around the man’s chest and then spew in mad tendrils out of where the blade would assumably stick out on the other side. 

 

Isamu roughly gasped. The sound made Kieren stifle back, but he relaxed. He knew that his power wouldn’t fail. Kieren withdrew the sword, letting it drop to ash in the process. He took the hand of Isamu and the two stood together, both box and mask falling away to ash. Together the two bowed. There was applause, but not nearly as loud as it was earlier. Kieren smiled with flared nostrils before they left the stage.

 

In the back, Kieren glared directly at Sachi who still stood whispering to July and her friends. Sachi wished July one final good luck before he went back to his and Tadaaki’s claimed tent section. 

 

Camelia took a deep breath before stepping onto the stage. She wished she had made it softer when she stepped out with only pantyhose on underneath the bright white bodysuit that matched the other girls’ outfit. She looked out to the crowd, curtsying slightly in acknowledgement. She then grabbed the shadow cast down by the hanging curtain. She flicked out the blanket of darkness gripping it tight to make it then form a platform. She dragged her hands up the platform to make it increase in height to hide that she was making stairs on the other side of it. Camelia went to walk to the other side of the platform and as she did, she could hear July running up the stairs. Just as she stood walking past the middle, July flipped over Camelia. She landed with her arms up dramatically and one leg forward and the other back. Camelia then posed gesturing up to the top of the platform with one hand and to July with the other with a huge smile.

 

It was a picture perfect. July stood with a magnificent pose, Candy leaning with relaxed crossed legs up top, and Camelia directing attention to both of them. It only lasted a moment before July took off running to the other side of the stage and Candy was jumping off of the platform. Camelia grabbed the shadow made by the platform throwing it under Candy to land on and then curving it around to make more stairs on the other side for July. Candy landed in a split that went right into a handstand. July gracefully climbed the steps, cartwheeling over the platform with Camelia right behind her. The stairs disappeared behind Camelia as soon as she stepped on them. She made the platform longer as July sprinted down it. Camelia dropped down to one knee to add a certain buoyancy to the tip of the platform, making it similar to a diving board.

 

July jumped twice on it before flipping over it again. She turned in the air as she did before landing in another ridiculous pose. Camelia followed running down more stairs that she created out of the diving board that she disassembled. She followed July to Candy in the front of the complete structure. Candy hopped up, cartwheeling towards stage left. Together, Candy and July lifted Camelia up onto the platform without shadowy assistance. 

 

Camelia then dismantled any other pieces, leaving only the original platform and her on top with a ridiculous amount of shadows at her will. She made two flurries of silk with all of them that she attached to her shoulders that she wrapped around and held in her hands. 

 

She let the two hang off of her down to the floor for the other girls. Candy took the one attached to her left and July the one at her right. July immediately took off, using it as a swing to move to the opposite side of the platform as Candy. She hung on the silk with both hands and stood on the platform. Candy did the same on the other side. Together the two climbed up while Camelia slowly made the platform smaller and smaller until it was a three meter tall box that was the width of a child’s shoe. 

 

Just when the two got close to the top, Camelia released the silks, making the girls drop back down to the stage. Camelia then released any power she had over any shadows and crossed her fingers. She closed her eyes as she fell down, her hair twirling up into the air and around her face. She landed in two sets of arms. They immediately launched her up onto her feet. Camelia flipped her hair before posing with two finger guns. The other two girls fell to one knee each and chose their own poses. Candy pursed her lips with her head held high. July pointed at herself with her thumb and licked her canine teeth.

 

The routine was so fast paced that the audience barely had time to react to anything that had happened. However, when the three stopped moving in their grand end, the audience lost it. Their enthusiasm was warming to say the least. As they walked off, Candy waved at the crowd, blowing as many kisses as she could in the time. Once back behind closed curtains, the girls looked at each other before shouting. It had gone smoothly with no mishaps. It had been amazing. 

 

Next to walk on stage were Jerricho and Vivica. Hand in hand, they approached the very edge of the stage. Vivica sat down, hanging her legs over the edge and went stiff. She acted as a puppet more than anything. She spoke to Jerricho, telling her who to target. 

 

“Tonight,” Jerricho announced to the crowd. “There will be sights that may be too supernatural for some hearts to handle. That is why I request someone with a strong will and level head.” Vivica ran quickly through the audience members’ phones, searching for someone who would love attention. She found a woman with several apps all for messaging. In each, more than four conversations were on-going. Vivica directed Jerricho's attention to her. “You, miss,” Jerricho pointed. “Backrow, yellow shirt,” The woman looked around, confused before point to herself. “Yes you, will you please join me up here?” She quickly rushed to the stage, taking the stairs up. “What's your name?” Jerricho asked before holding her hand up. “Wait,” Jerricho closed her eyes and pretended to focus. “It’s Lana?” Jerricho questioned. 

 

The woman widened her eyes. “Yes, of course!” 

 

Jerricho nodded. “Oh, Lana, you're planning something big, aren't you? A party of some kind?” 

 

Lana gawked. “Yes, yes, it's my father's birthday.” She pointed to the back row. There sat a man, much older than her.

 

“Well happy birthday, sir,” Jerricho nodded to him. “I can see your guest list now,” She said, closing her eyes. “Judy, Arnol, Carey,” She was rattling off the names as Vivica told them. “... And Arkadi.” She looked up to the woman. “He hasn't gotten back to you yet?”

 

The woman lowered her head. “That's my mother. She's missing.” 

 

Jerricho nodded. “You haven't spoken to her in a long time, have you?” 

 

The woman shook her head. “Well, I think you're about to get a very important phone call.” Sure enough, the phone in the woman's pocket started to ring. 

 

“I swear I left it one silent,” She fumbled for it. “I'm so sorry.”

 

“Answer it,” Jerricho encouraged her. She frowned, looking scared. She hesitated, staring down at the unrecognized number. “And please, on speakerphone.”

 

Lana finally tapped the screen, once to answer, another time to amplify it. “Lana?” She gasped and covered her mouth. “Lana it's Mom.”

 

“Mama!” Lana broke into fast Russian while speaking to the woman on the phone. She actually started to cry on stage.

 

Jerricho helped Vivica up. The two bowed, causing thunderous applause. They then left the stage, retreating back. Jerricho heaved a sigh. 

 

“Did we just exploit her?” Jerricho asked.

 

Vivica laughed. “No. If anything, we helped her.” Jerricho cringed.

 

As a last second decision, Eryk walked on stage, carrying Bea sitting on his left shoulder. They'd probably be ridiculed by Cardon later, but the way things were going, that was inevitable for everyone.

 

Eryk had put his hair up for the first time in a while, letting the blue stand an extra foot taller than him. Bea's pink skirt was a stark contrast to the color. Once out to where everyone could see them, Eryk let Bea down onto the ground. The latex around her nose started to itch the longer she left it on. She decided to hurry to get the show over with. With Kieren's decision, it left them as the final act.

 

Eryk held onto her hands gently, but was ready to catch her if she needed. She took a few steps, barely touching the stage. Twirling, she bowed to Eryk. He bowed right back before lifting her up. He picked her up letting her flip in his arms before holding her above his head. He placed her down to stand on his shoulders. He then made a cup with both hands. She jumped in front of him, her good leg planting her foot onto his hand. With little effort, he launched her upward. She went soaring and Eryk opened his arms to catch her. Just as her pupils were close enough to see, she disappeared, Popping out of sight. Eryk looked around, trying to find her. To the left of the stage she stood. She waved at him. He walked towards her, but she Popped again. He looked around. She tapped his shoulder, Popping before he saw her. The audience started to laugh. 

 

Eryk then tried to use his power in order to catch her. Every time the girl would appear, Eryk would pull on her to bring her close, but each time, she would disappear out of sight.

 

She started to good off. Sitting in the crowd, sitting on empty chairs, laps, and shoulders of random patrons. Eryk tried to follow her into the crowd, but she avoided him at all costs. The audience members seem to play into it, acting like they had never seen her. 

 

One time she disappeared, Eryk couldn't find her for a long time. He wandered around, looking under seats, up on the canvas ceiling, and on the stage. He took his place on stage, genuinely trying to find the girl. He tapped his foot on the wood-like shadow. Suddenly, he heard the Pop, directing his attention to immediately above him. She looked terrified as she flailed through the air, coming downwards head first. He held his arms out, pulling on her with his power to accelerate her decent. He scooped her up in his arms, placing her down onto the ground.

 

She raised her head to show pride. She posed in the way that she had been practicing all week. She showed the crowd a bright smile before finally bowing. The two walked backstage where Bea finally let herself float.

 

Ellenor headed back up onto the stage. She told the audience thank you and that the show was over. She once again caught the eye of Cardon who started the standing ovation. Forcing herself not to snarl at him, she smiled. She took a bow, too afraid to take off her hat in front of the crowd.


	205. Explaining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What needs fixed?

“You have some explaining to do right now!” Ellenor slammed her hand down onto the table that Cardon had his feet propped up on. Immediately, supers started to gather to watch the commotion. Frieda caught a spring that had rolled off the table. She stopped her work when Ellenor started shouting. “You said it would work!” 

 

Cardon crossed his arms with a frown. “It did.” He made a disgusted face up at her.

 

“Like hell it did!” She snapped her teeth. “Less than half of those chairs were filled!” 

 

“You should always have extra chairs,” Cardon defended nonchalantly.

 

“Do you know how many people were in that crowd?” Ellenor snapped. Cardon shook his head. “Forty! Forty people!”

 

“Thirty-six not including supers in the crowd,” Kieren spoke up. 

 

“Don't you know only addicts count?” Cardon asked her. He sighed when Ellenor didn't even try to smile. “Alright,” Cardon stood up. “It's a miracle that that many people showed up at all. You should be proud that without any time to prepare of plan so many people showed up. And this is a pretty small town. Just think how many would have come if it was a big city, maybe seventy.” Ellenor curled her nose. “I'm being genuine,” Cardon held his hands up in defense. “My first solo show, there were probably ten people and half of them were drunk. You just had an attentive audience that willingly interacted with you. I'm impressed at how well this went. This is just the beginning, so it's time to be humble.”

 

Ellenor growled one more time before Ellenor shook her head, trying to drown out all the voices she was hearing. “You lied to me!” She shouted. Just as she grabbed her head in both hands, the eye started to go wild with colored flashing images. Cardon backed up in fear.

 

“Patience,” Frieda placed her hand on Ellenor’s shoulder. Her rigid body immediately went soft. “Trust it.”

 

Ellenor breathed out. “We have to leave,” She said quietly. “Let’s get everything packed up.”

 

Camelia tore down everything that was made of her shadows, which was all structures they had. Frieda packed up her work. Tadaaki regrew all the crushed grass. When they stood back, it was like they were never even there. The water ran without care of their presence.

 

The supers started to load up into the cars that they owned, but were stopped by a loud giggle. Jerricho spoke, “We’re all over!” People completely stopped moving to acknowledge what Vivica was relaying to Jerricho. “Jean has a blog and apparently his story is blowing up. He's all over social media!” 

 

“What did he say?” Cardon asked.

 

There was a pause. “He said that his experience with Sachi and his boyfriend was absolutely spiritual and sacred to him. He called Ellenor the perfect starter, and Kieren a total showstopper!” Then there was a hesitation. Jerricho lowered her voice as she asked, “What's wrong?” But everyone was already intently listening. Jerricho raised her head to the group again when she said, “There's no names. No one introduced themselves. We didn't even give a name to our show.”

 

“What's bad about that?” Tadaaki asked.

 

“When we do more shows, how will people know we're the same people?” Kieren spoke flatly.

 

Cardon looked to Ellenor. “You said your lions’ names, but not your own?” She covered her eyes in irritation.

 

“But…” Jerricho continued. “Jean is a tourist. He doesn't live here. It looks like there was a huge fire last night and that's what's in the local news.” 

  
  


“Figures,” Frieda scoffed.

 

“Enough pessimism!” Cardon shook his head. “No matter what any of you think, this was a success. However, that doesn't let any of you off the hook. Why the hell did the schedule have to change at all?” 

 

“People needed their showstopper,” Kieren shrugged like it was a known fact. 

 

“That's why you're supposed to be at the end, genius,” Cardon rolled his eyes at him.  “And how about you two?” He turned towards Eryk and Bea. “You must have cut an entire ten minutes out of the show!” Bea Popped out of sight, reappearing at Ellenor’s shoulder and floating there as if she would provide her protection. “I can’t believe that you two were the finishing act especially after that fantastic performance from Camelia and July.” Cardon then sighed. “Now that I mention it, I realize how boring you two were. It was great, your tricks were perfect, but it took so long for anything to even happen.” 

 

“That good, huh?” July asked.

 

“None of you were bad, like I’m trying to say,” Cardon continued to explain. “It’s just that you have a lot to improve on.”

 

“Wait,” Tadaaki’s eyes widened. “We’re doing this again?”

 

Cardon shook his head. “Of course we are!” He was almost baffled. “I thought you wanted to be famous.”

 

“I don’t know about famous…” Tadaaki mumbled under his breath.

“We’re trying to do something more than get a few minutes of fame,” Ellenor looked up, her pride showing. She looked confident, but was fidgeting with every movement of the eye upon her forehead. “Right?” 

 

“And what is that?” Cardon asked. 

 

Ellenor stopped, her lips parted. She continued to look around as the eye moved vigorously. “I don’t know, but we need to go.”

 

“What’s going to happen?” Cardon asked.

 

Ellenor turned around, looking to the small parting in the brush that cars could fit through. “Isamu, I need you to go,” She told him without looking. “It’s too late.”

 

A car pulled around the corner and into the grass where the rest of their cars sat. Isamu quickly distanced himself from the group, Kieren following him to the small emerald car. Everyone took defensive poses, hiding the few supers whose powers were visible to the naked eye. Ellenor placed her top hat back on her head to hide the eye. Everyone was still in costume and Ellenor then knew that their outfits would work against them.

 

“Hello, there,” Ellenor waved slightly to the man who exited the car. He had grey hair that had been buzzed down to his balding head. “To whom do I owe the pleasure of meeting?” Ellenor wanted to know his name off the bat so she could predict his moves.

 

“I could ask you the same question,” He approached, hands deep in his pockets. She noticed him eying the girls who wore less clothing with concern for the cold. “What’s going on here?”

 

“Nothing too sinister,” Ellenor turned back to the group, glancing over their outfits. “As you can probably tell.”

 

He squinted at her. “I’m Sherriff Isaac and I need to see some I.D.”

 

Ellenor perked up. “I’m Sergeant General Ellenor Marie,” She bowed slightly. “And from one commander to another, I can tell you with certainty that my squad is simply doing as they’re told.” Ellenor inserted as many adjectives as she could to buy herself some time. 

 

The Sheriff laughed. “Okay, Sergeant General,” He said through chuckles. “I need to see your driver’s license.”

 

Ellenor shook her head. “Well, I hate to remind you that I am in fact dead, so I’ve been revoked of my humanly belongings.”

 

He laughed at her more, taking a pad out of his pocket. “Well, I hate to remind you, ma’am, that you do in fact need a permit to…” He looked at them, trying to figure out what they were doing.

 

“Perform?” Ellenor asked. “Well, as far as I can tell, officer, this is public domain.” He raised a brow. “We were just on our way, sir, I’m sure this is no true offence.”

 

He flared his nostrils at her as he wrote on the notepad, tore out a page, and handed it to Ellenor, while never breaking eye contact from her. 

 

“Oh,” Ellenor shook her head in shame, taking it from him. “My wife is not going to be happy about this. Frieda, I’m so sorry.” Ellenor spoke dramatically, waving the ticket at Frieda.

 

Frieda snatched it. “I’m so sorry, officer,” She looked to him. “My wife here,” Frieda elbowed her, making her laugh. “Is still in the theatrical mindset.”

 

He glared at them more. “You better get out of here before she earns you another.”

 

Ellenor raised her hand, gesturing for the group to circle-up. She whispered to them, “No one make eye contact, talk as if nothing is happening, get to the cars and leave. No one get in the trailer.”

 

Everyone nodded and split. Ellenor smiled and waved at the officer. He was getting more and more irritated. She was then escorted quickly by Frieda pulling her arm, getting into the car with Isamu and Kieren.

 

Frieda started it with trembling hands and pulled away, every car trailing close behind. Frieda breathed out hard.

 

“What were you thinking?” She shouted, smacking her hand on Ellenors arm. 

 

Ellenor laughed. “‘Theatrics?’ Really?”

 

Frieda laughed back. “I swear, you have a death wish.”

 

Ellenor finally relaxed into her seat. She turned to the backseat to brag about her acting skills, but her stomach dropped. “Where’s Cardon?”


	206. Detachment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's someone's worth alone?

Lolias felt sick. He coughed slightly into his clenched fist. He leaned back into the corner, letting his head make a thunking sound against the trailer. He shut his eyes as they rolled around under his lids. Misery crawled under his skin in the form of cold chills. Whether or not he was the cause or the northern weather, he couldn’t discern. He heard the door shut and close, but he didn’t look up. He’d be grateful to have Candy and July’s warmth then, but his mind wasn’t in any place to speak.

 

“Too cold for you?” Cardon’s voice rang in the trailer. Lolias jumped slightly, but tried to relax as more chills ran through him. “You’re shaking.”

 

“I’m fine,” Pathetically, his voice shook. 

 

“You don’t have to lie to me,” Cardon told him. “I’m pretty good at figuring out lies.” He walked to the back of the trailer, taking a seat next to Lolias. His body didn’t emit warmth the same way that the other two girls.’ “No offense, but I don’t think being trapped in here is helping you.”

 

Lolias scoffed, “No shit,” But it devolved into quiet coughs.

 

“They should let you out, you know,” Cardon spoke, “Get some exercise, it’d be good for you.”

 

“Trust me,” Lolias rolled his eyes. “That’s all I want.”

 

“You already can’t perform; why not demand this one thing?” Cardon smirked.

 

“It’s not exactly the most ideal situation,” Lolias said flatly. 

 

“And this space isn’t exactly big enough for you,” Cardon looked around the space. “And it’s cold.”

 

“I used to have blankets,” The tall man reminisced. “But they got left behind one time when we all left in a hurry.”

 

“And how about some clothes?” Cardon asked.

 

“I only have a few, but they bought me some fabrics to make some more.”

 

“They expect you to sow in your state?” 

 

“I’m fully capable.” Lolias snapped. Danny had also doubted his abilities years ago, but Lolias used the sowing machine until it broke.

 

“I’m just saying you’re not exactly being accustomed to,” Cardon shrugged.

 

“You can’t turn me against anyone,” Lolias frowned. “I see what you’re doing.” He heard Cardon’s body hit the back of the trailer as he didn’t brace himself for the sudden stop.

 

“Well, you did try to leave everyone, right?” Cardon spoke of Lolias shooting himself with the mysterious gun. “I’m not trying to turn you against anybody, but weren’t you once a proud acrobat? You should demand some respect!”

 

“Gymnast,” Lolias corrected.

 

“Next time we stop, let’s work some rust off, huh?” Cardon nudged him. “Just me and you.” 

 

“I’d rather not be alone,” Lolias folded his arms. Within his mind, he wished more than anything to be alone, but deep down, he felt a sense of longing.

 

“Your buddies can tagalong,” Cardon shrugged. “Candy can be annoying, but I like July. And don’t call me out, you know that I would say that to their faces.” Cardon smirked at himself, looking up at the giant to see his reaction. It was dark, but Cardon saw his pain-pinched face looking into the corner. “Do you know anyone else that would like to work out? Some push-ups? Maybe Ellenor would buy us some weights.”

 

Lolias grew even more distant from the conversation, his chest clenching. What felt like a thousand years ago, working on flexibility and muscle mass were the only two things that bonded Lolias and Isamu. The barn was a sanctuary for the two that they used exercise as an excuse to see each other.

 

“No,” Lolias replied. “No one else.” He curled further into himself, trying to get some warmth from himself. He coughed into his own hand, savoring the heat provided by his breath. 

 

Isamu sat with his chin propped up on top of his only hand along the window ledge inside the emerald car that glistened with the same pattern as the stars. Kieren leaned against his opposite side, barely touching him as he slept. It was the first time he had seen the other man sleep in a long time. Even then, he was completely still, unaffected by night terrors anymore. Moments of peace were impossible to find at that time. That night was the first day that Isamu had been grateful for in a long time. 

 

Ever since the day that Lolias tried to emancipate himself, Kieren was unrelenting. His cover had been completely blown when he showed his caring nature towards the Cuban man. Just when Kieren's trust in him had been renewed once again, Isamu ruined it. That same day, Isamu shoved Kieren, letting his defiance get the best of him in his angered state. Again, and again, when Kieren followed him, Isamu pushed him away, shouted at him, and told him to leave. Isamu didn't beg to be set free; he demanded that he wanted to be alone forever.

 

That didn't sit lightly with Kieren. He shouted about their agreement they had made. He ranted about his disloyalty being revolting. Most terrifying of all, Kieren whispered of how he would never be free from him. He said that no one else would take him after all the scars that Kieren would leave.

 

Kieren strangled him until his body went limp. He waited for him to awake only to dig his teeth into his skin. He ran his nails in tenderly before sinking them down into Isamu’s flesh. With every move, Kieren attempted to break Isamu past the point of no return.

 

Isamu wished he could cry. He thought about the events of the past two weeks with such forlorn that it burned. His throat would bubble up and make his chest tight, but nothing more. He hated how numb he was to the constant abuse from his self-proclaimed boyfriend. 

 

Then there was Lolias. One attachment to the real world kept Isamu sane from the never ending nightmare he found himself trapped in was gone. It was his own fault too. Everything came crashing down at once, leaving Isamu projecting his anger towards Lolias. He would have swallowed his pride and apologized to the other man, but Lolias's words held true. It was obvious that he didn't want to be with him anymore.  _ Coward _ . Isamu heard over and over.

 

He looked down at Kieren.  _ Coward. _ There was no changing his situation.  _ Coward. _ All he had to do was be brave enough to make the change.  _ Coward.  _ He had tried, only a few times, but always dove right back into submission.  _ Coward. _

 

Isamu moved his hand up to wipe his mouth. As he did, he felt the scars that made parts of his lips and cheek concave. A stupid mistake he had made so long ago was undoable. At that time, he told himself that he was protecting the others, but something in him knew it wouldn't work. His power was so much more than he thought. He feigned bravery back then, holding his fear close to his chest.

 

To someone else…

 

Isamu looked up towards the front seat.

 

… He was worth something.

 

He stared at Ellenor with a pained expression. The number of times she had saved him from impending death, he couldn't count. He wished to return the favor, but any time he was around, he was dismissed. His power ruined her own whenever he was involved. No matter how much she saved him, he was still a hindrance even to the entire group. In that moment he decided things would be better if he wasn't around. 

 

He looked back out the car window. Just as he did, the car passed under an arch into a tunnel like pathway that seemed to make all the stars go out.


	207. Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More shopping? Yes.

It was quiet that following morning as the supers stood over Cardon who tapped at a notepad with the pencil he held. A few sat down with him at the picnic table, but most remained standing in the large gazebo structure that had a place for a grill, and a large number of people. The supers were welcome to sit down at the other empty tables, but they remained close. No one minded though. It was cold enough that everyone wanted to tuck in close to anyone. The only person seemingly unaffected was Pete, who was difficult to make feel uncomfortable.

 

Cardon had been adamantly working since he received the notepad from Ellenor. He wrote down notes for every performance about how they could improve. He also wrote down the order of the show, bitterly emphasizing it to the group. Then, he sat down to come up with a name for the circus. Together, they were mostly brainstorming, but no one offered up any ideas. It was sad since they all agreed that the simple title that had been given to them so suddenly was boring.

 

It took an entire half hour for Cardon to give up on it, ripping it out and leaving it on the table for another time. Several supers had left by then, making their own conversations. He instead got to writing down supplies they needed. At the top of his list he had written spotlight. It was the worst part of watching the show that he was able to look at the audience as clearly as the performance. He then wrote stage makeup. Everyone was drenched in eyeliner and highlight palettes, but if they had a brighter spot light, it would have to be even better. Next he wrote down a colored tent canvas. As convenient as Camelia's power was it didn't exactly draw people in to a blanket of darkness. 

 

Ellenor sat down next to him, rattling off a few more things she thought were necessary. They didn't exactly relate to the show like Cardon expected. A first aid kit, a sewing kit, and packages of socks were a few of the things included on her list. 

 

It was only Ellenor, Cardon, Pete, and Eryk that decided to go shopping then. They took the smallest car when they went. Eryk drove while the other three continued to add to their lists. Cardon expressed concern for spending their money. If they connected the dots, the people hunting them down would be able to track them. He told everyone to get all they thought they would need now because they wouldn't be stopping again.

 

The group split up when they entered the small store. Inside, every shelf was tightly arranged to each other. There was only space for one person in the width of the aisles. The towering height caused vertigo to anyone searching for something higher than eye level. Most everything was dark minus the white linoleum on the floor. Upon the sickening shelves laid junk food, medicine, and pointless things to buy. There was a minimal amount of shoppers when they answered. They were thankful for that since so few people could be in an aisle at once.

 

It didn't take long for Cardon to realize that no large canvas sheets were offered. He settled for something small for the spotlight. He flicked a large desk light. It would have to do. He selected as many makeup highlighters as he could along with tons of eyeliners. He wished to get concealer, but the performers all had different skin shades. Overall, the trip to the store was turning out to be a disaster. 

 

He wove around the aisles of the tightly packed store. He passed by the other supers as well as other patrons. His plan was to find Ellenor and tell of the failure this was turning out to be. When he spotted her crouching on her haunches he squinted, confused as to why she was in the medicine aisle. She already had a first aid kit in hand, but she looked at something else.

 

“Ellenor?” He asked. She jumped, dropping the two tubes she was looking at. He dropped to the floor with her. He was almost sad to see what he did. Muscle relaxer creams laid on the floor before she hurried to plant them back on the shelf. “I think they make pills for that,” He tried to be snide. Her face was completely flushed as she stood back up. 

 

“Yeah, they probably do,” She turned to leave the section.

 

“Hey,” Cardon called out to her. “Is something wrong?” 

 

She turned back to smile. “Not at all.”

 

After the huge fail they faced, Ellenor agreed to go to another store. They were riddled with regret in not bringing Vivica or Frieda to help guide them in the right direction.

 

Cardon was pleased at the following store the small group visited. Most everything was much more industrial. The entire store smelled like the mulch that was presented on slabs at the front. Inside was much more open and spacious than the previous store. The shelves ended at eight foot and then the ceiling was at least six feet higher. The structure of the roof could be seen from the floor Each aisle was individually marked with what was within. 

 

At first, Eryk joined Cardon in being distraught when they found a section of lights, but all happened to be heat lamps. Deeper within the same aisle, massive spotlights were in even bigger packages. The boxes they were inside were labeled as ‘security lights,’ but only Cardon could read the primary Russian text. Eryk had to squint at the tag in order to see what it was. Willingly, Eryk carried it under his arm for the others. No matter how he denied it, Cardon could see the smile splayed on the Australian man’s face. 

 

Pette caught up with Cardon and Eryk toward the front of the store. He held two packages in either hand both labeled the same. On the slim plastic bag read ‘protective cover.’ The pictured situation on one sticker was of a man painting over top of the cover in question. The other package represented the sheet as to be used for temporary walls. Both were two shades of beige. Luckily, Pete had also picked up a few small cans of fabric paint. Their shopping trip was turning itself around.

 

The former prince led Cardon back towards the aisle where he had picked out the painting cans. There, Cardon selected much more vibrant colors of red, yellow, and purple as well as a neutral white. Massive paint brushes were taken as well. When Eryk and Pete started to play with the soft hairs of the brushes, Cardon looked away to stop from smiling. 

 

Ellenor met them at the front of the store where they were then able to ring up all of the chosen items. Cardon looked at Ellenor out of the corner of his eye. He watched her attempt to hide the coolant packs she had picked up. Sighing, he turned away. She was strangely adamant about keeping some kind of physical secret. It would have to be just the two of them if he wanted an honest answer from her.

 

Cardon was nervous when Ellenor paid with her card, but he remembered that it wasn’t actually illegal. It was almost confusing how legal everything was. He wondered for a second if Ellenor actually did anything to break the law, but then he remembered how she ran from the police, broke out of prison, and lied to any authority figure that appeared. 

 

Thankfully, the rest of their trip was uneventful afterward. The car was a little cramped with all of the bulky bags, but Pete actually fell asleep in the back. The day was winding down before them, showing just how much time they had spent running errands. Most of the group was tired since they hadn’t eaten and wouldn’t until Candy enhanced something for everyone.

 

Keeping his eyes on Ellenor, Cardon tried to figure her out. She stood up on the stage with a huge smile only to turn around to yell at him. She aggressively threatened him and then readily spent the entire day with him. He covered his mouth with his fist with tight lips. Contradictions were the only defining feature that he knew Ellenor for. She acted like she made a democracy, but acted like the ultimate authority. She acted like the strongest woman even though she needed some sort of muscle treatment. She was in a coma for weeks, yet that massive eye remained active on her face.

 

Cardon squinted at his own thoughts. It haunted him when he thought about what had been said. Ellenor had two consciousnesses inside a single body. It was disturbing to say the very least. She could have been like him, or Eryk, or Frieda where they could hide amongst regular humans because their powers didn’t physically affect them. Ellenor’s power went deeper than just physical, though. Inside her mind, two people willed her body, thoughts, and speech. If someone else was inside his head, he wouldn't last a single day.

 

He had to force himself to stop. The concept made him feel sick. Being a super at all was enough to process already.

 

Cardon stepped out of the car as soon as it stopped. Most of the other supers flocked over to the emerald car, curiously asking all about their day. Cardon simply clapped his hands, despite the fact that no one was directly talking to him. It quieted, but he only needed a moment.

 

“Let’s get to practice!”


	208. Fixing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What sucks about the show?

Laying spread out in the grass were two massive beige canvases. More than a dozen times the smaller of the kids had to be swept up to stop them from running on the paint. Cardon watched with half-lidded eyes. It was annoying how the children were always kept around when they were so blatantly a hindrance. Cardon flared his nostrils at them. He thought about how they would never grow up too since they weren’t being taught anything. What life lessons could a circus teach a bunch of kids? Not to mention the actual physical growing up. With Pete around, seemingly no one aged. However, it was only to those who were in closest proximity to him. Yet Pete was the one on babysitting duty.

 

If they actually played their cards right, no one would age, get hurt, or die. Of course, Pete wasn’t some kind of cure-all either. He couldn’t fix anything preexisting and couldn’t heal. Cardon wondered if he would actually stifle the healing process the same as the aging process. He turned away. His power was completely wasted on the group.

 

As he walked through the small encampment he observed the performers. While Candy and Camelia worked on their speed, July read over the notes that Cardon had given them. She approached slowly, but her long legs carried her fast enough to catch him. She held up the note sheet for both of them to look at. He stopped completely to listen to her.

 

“Here,” July pointed. “It just says ‘colors.’ What does that mean?” She looked away to gauge his expression. 

 

He looked back at her, ready to explain, but stopped himself when he saw her. “What are you wearing?” He asked her. He frowned at the sweatshirt she wore along with an entire pair of pants. “If you’re working on speed, that’s not going to help.” 

 

July threw down the piece of paper to her side as she shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Seriously? What am I supposed to wear?” 

 

“If you don’t have anything, wear your costume,” Cardon took the paper from her. “‘Colors’ means you need different costumes. Uniformity will benefit your part of the show.”

 

July looked displeased by that. “I might as well go back to the Provencal army.”

 

Cardon laughed in her face. “I was in prison for two years, I think you can handle changing your outfit one time a week.” July scoffed before turning away, but she didn’t go back to practice. Cardon watched as she approached the trailer where her clothes were being stored. He smirked. He had no leverage among them, yet his demands were always met. If only Ellenor was more compliant. 

 

Kieren sat on the hood of a car playing with the petals of a flaming rose. He gently placed more and more petals onto the growing flower. He seemed to be concentrating on his face, but his body was languidly perched against the metal. When Cardon approached, Kieren held it up to him. 

 

“Pretty nice, right?” The younger man asked. He even twirled the object around in his fingers to show it glimmer in the sunlight. It was nice, but it looked hard, crisp, and nothing like the softness of a flower.

 

Cardon pursed his lips. “I’ve seen you make a mask, a flower, and a sword; that’s all you have?” Kieren looked up at him annoyed, dropping the flower. It dissolved into nothing but smoke in the wind. “You need to be able to do more if you want my approval.”

 

“You think it’s your approval I’m after?” Kieren rolled his eyes. He leaned forward to Cardon, looking up at him with dark eyes. “I don't care about you.”

 

Cardon craned his neck up to look down at Kieren. He was the only super that ever caused him trouble, aside from Frieda. At least she had reason, Kieren was just ridiculous. He took a deep breath and sighed. It was probably just like the time before where his advice was seemingly forgotten, but he actually followed it. 

 

“Where's your partner?” Cardon moved on to instead search for Isamu. 

 

Kieren started to form an orb in his hand of flames, nonchalantly answering, “He's sick.” Cardon squinted at him, but nothing more. The more time that went by, Cardon learned that there wasn't a real relationship between Isamu and Kieren. Anyone with eyes could see it if they looked long enough. Cardon wanted answers about the scarred man, yet Isamu was virtually never alone. When he was, he was missing like he was then. 

 

The bearded man was wasting his time speaking to someone who never listened. He moved on.

 

Tadaaki was laying on the ground surrounded by the grass in a large pool of sunlight. He kept his eyes shut while his skin seemingly glowed in the light. His hair was sticking up in random places as though he'd just woken up. 

 

As soon as Cardon was close enough to cast a shadow, Tadaaki opened an eye to look at him. He sighed. “Here to coach me on my own power that you don't know anything about?”

 

“Don't be bitter,” Cardon subtly commanded. “I actually have a question for you.” He sat down in the grass next to Tadaaki who had already closed his eyes again. “If you do Photosynthesis, or whatever, why is your skin not green?” Cardon was genuinely curious. He could have gotten an answer, but Tadaaki was always bitter towards him. 

 

“Because people like you and everyone else are always interrupting me.” Tadaaki huffed as he stood up. Without another word, he walked away with an irritated look only to sit back down in another patch of sunlight in the grass. This time, however, he raised the grass up to barrier himself off from the encampment full of supers.

 

With a sigh, Cardon sighed, continuing through the arranged cars to speak with the performers. 

 

He found Sachi next. The young handsome man was radiating a somber aura as he picked at something on a low hanging branch. Cardon approached, ready to be bickered at once again, but Sachi seemed to have no life in his wide eyes.

 

“Hello?” Cardon asked, leaning down in an attempt to catch his gaze. 

 

Sachi jumped slightly. “Oh,” He blinked a couple times. “Hi.”

 

“You alright?” Cardon dared to ask.

 

“Yeah,” Sachi wiped his face from his right cheekbone down to his chin. “Just lost in thought.”

 

Cardon quirked an eyebrow, but ultimately ignored the behavior. “Have you looked over the notes I gave you?”

 

“Yeah,” Sachi reached into his pocket, pulling out a wrinkled piece of paper. “Yeah, it’s just that I don’t know If I can do all this stuff.” He moved the sheet in his hands nervously. “I doubt I can make two people who aren’t already aware of each other suddenly have the same thought. They already need to have a connection.”

 

Cardon frowned. “And you can hear that? If two people know each other?”

 

“No, no,” Sachi shook his head. “Their connection has to run deep, like love, or hate, or something.”

 

“And this ‘connection’ can’t be fabricated?” Cardon tried.

 

“No,” Sachi answered plainly only to add, “Well… It could be, but Egend isn’t here anymore.”

 

“Egend?” Cardon asked.

 

“Another super,” Sachi explained. “He could will red strings of fate. He basically made a harem of soulmates for himself.”

 

“And that worked?” Cardon asked, quite surprised.

 

“Yes, but he’s gone now,” Sachi grimaced. “He left us behind.”

 

Cardon cursed. “If he was here, this would be perfect.”

 

“No,” Sachi shook his head. “It’s horrible what he did! It wasn’t right.”

 

“Alright,” Cardon sighed. “We’ll settle for the whole ‘lover’ thing going on in your show, but it won’t work forever, so think about it.”

 

Sachi looked down at the paper. “Your notes are either really vague or awfully specific. What does ‘pure’ mean?”

 

Cardon smiled. “Well, you see, up on that stage, you were so radiant, basically glowing. I could feel your purity from the furthest row. Except, there was a little issue,” Cardon pointed at the messy swooped coiffure that Sachi always made look amazing. “Your hair…” Sachi frowned. “It’s pitch black.”

 

“This is just my hair color,” Sachi grabbed at it, looking up with a scowl. “What’s so bad about it?”

 

“It has such a contrast, you know?” Cardon tried to explain. “It’s like you’re all white and scintillating and then suddenly it’s just darkness.” Cardon sighed. “It’s a shame, really, your hair is beautiful, but what do you think about dying it?”

 

Sachi was taken aback. “Like Candy and Eryk?”

 

Cardon chuckled. “No, no, no, no, I mean white.”

 

Sachi was even more surprised. “White? Pure white?”

 

Cardon smiled. “That’s the idea. Think about it.” He quickly walked away, not allowing him to protest.

 

Jerricho and Vivica walked towards the cars. Luckily, Cardon was moving the opposite direction, making their routes ready to cross. However, when Jerricho saw him, she tugged at Vivica in the other direction. Cardon picked up his pace to catch them. Vivica remained in place as Cardon rushed towards them. She was unaffected by Jerricho's pull. 

 

“Leaving so soon?” Cardon pestered Jerricho. She upturned her lip at him. “Have you looked at the note I left you?”

 

Vivica nodded. Jerricho spoke for them, “Yes, but we're not sure how to do what you asked.” To his surprise, Vivica pulled out the note he had given her. It was crisp and pristine. “This just says 'flare.’ What is that supposed to mean?” 

 

Cardon nodded as he remembered what their show needed. “Well, it was amazing to see you make someone get a phone call. I had no idea that was possible. However, for the audience, there wasn't much that happened. There was just a little talking and then a ringtone. There's nothing to look at aside from your costumes. I think there needs to be more physical interaction with you and whoever you bring on stage. 

 

“Which leads me to my next point,” He pointed down towards Vivica as he smiled. “You just sat still the entire time. It was bland and weird. It was hard to understand why you were there.”

 

“I thought we were going with the ventriloquist idea,” Jerricho frowned deeply.

 

“Yes, but,” Cardon cringed as he tried to explain. “You have to actually use a dummy if you want it to have substance. I think Vivica should be offstage entirely.”

 

“What?!” Jerricho shouted at him. He was taken aback by her energetic reaction. She normally acted uninterested. 

 

“It's what necessary,” Cardon told her. 

 

“What?” Jerricho then looked towards Vivica, her face appalled as she listened to an inaudible conversation. Her expression turned pained until she slouched forward in defeat. She gathered Vivica's hands up in her own and started to whisper, “But I can't do this… I can't without you…” 

 

Cardon suddenly felt awkward witnessing such an intimate moment. Jerricho placed her forehead on Vivica's. “Okay…” She barely breathed.

 

“We're doing a rehearsal tonight. Don't be too scared for the next show. Everyone is making lots of changes so everyone will feel prepared.” Cardon finally parted from the girls. He allowed himself to exhale. Every super was dramatic over everything and it was getting exhausting.

 

He moved on, making his way towards the large truck that held the gorgeous lions. As he turned to walk against it, the wind ceased to hit his skin as he was covered by the white metal. He relaxed further, feeling warmer in an instant. Turning one last time, he looked into the truck.

 

“There’s my star performer!” He greeted as his eyes landed on Ellenor. Both Ellenor and Frieda were looking out at him surprised, but the two lions didn’t bat an eye at him. He seemed to be interrupting some conversation, but it shut down at his presence.

 

“Then what should I call you?” Ellenor asked. “Some kind of manager?”

 

Cardon smirked. “I like that coming from someone as powerful as yourself.”

 

She cringed. “Don’t call me powerful; that’s what Kieren says.”

 

“Whatever you say.” He pretended to bow at her, to which she chuckled. 

 

Frieda promptly excused herself with a single prolonged kiss to Ellenor’s forehead, but no words. Ellenor sighed as she watched the short woman walk away. Cardon then hopped into the truck, sitting down on the bed before he got too close to the animals. 

 

“So,” Ellenor pulled out her piece of paper. “I heard I had the longest list.”

 

Cardon smiled. “Of course you do,” He spoke with a casualness he wished could last. “You’re the most important.” Ellenor read the list held in one hand while she rested her hand against her right leg. Cardon’s expressed turned crestfallen. “But that’s not what I’m here to talk about…” Ellenor lifted her head with a questioning gaze.

 

“I saw you in the stores,” Cardon told her. “You must have gotten every medication Russia has to offer.” She scoffed at that. “What’s wrong?”

 

She turned away from the paper to look at her leg as she gently rubbed at it. “I’ve been putting a lot of stress on it when I have to stand up straight. Since it didn’t start to heal in place right away, it can still be fractured. At least, that’s what Frieda tells me.”

 

“When your legs were broken all those months ago,” Cardon hesitated, knowing that he had to tread lightly on the past. “Why were they?”

 

She looked pained as she remembered. “I had a vision of the farm, where all the supers used to live. That vision was recorded, just like all of mine were back then. We, Frieda and I, we both panicked and she tried to destroy it, but it was way too late. Frieda was gotten rid of, but they tried to interrogate me, but I couldn't sacrifice the farm. Lucky for them, I was already dead to the public.”

 

“What was the vision?” Cardon asked. Ellenor looked at him questioningly. 

 

She opened her mouth to speak, but gently covered it with the tips of her fingers. The purple eye on her face opened then, spilling tears down her face which mixed with the water flowing down from her original eyes. “Sorry,” She tried to wipe her face to no avail. “It's still hard to think about.”

 

Cardon stared with a distraught visage at her as her hand trembled on her face. He had to look away after feeling too much pity. “Does anyone know?” He asked.

 

“Frieda does,” Ellenor told.“She was there.”

 

“But isn't that different than feeling it like you did?” Cardon continued his prodding. “Isn't it real to you?”

 

“The visions?” She asked. They held each other's gazes. It was strange to be questioned so much. Not even her employers asked how it worked. She was finally able  to share how she felt despite never realizing that she wanted to. “Yes, very real.” She doubted her own emotions, certain that they were being influenced by the eye. 

 

Cardon stood, ending his interrogation. “You don't have to practice tonight, but you should come watch at least. Everyone else is probably ready by now.” Ellenor nodded, standing up. She took the staff that was mostly a prop for her being a ringmaster and used it as a conventional cane. The two lions stood and stretched at the same time. They followed behind as if they were told the same. 

 

“Hey,” Cardon started a new conversation after jumping down out of the truck. “How are they so tame?”

 

Ellenor shrugged. “I assume it's because I saved them, but they'd have to still remember that somehow.”

 

Cardon eyed the animals before turning back to watch where he walked through the grass. The two large canvases had been moved into the last piece of sun that remained on the ground. The supers had gathered in the large clearing, chatting quietly, but it then silenced when Ellenor and Cardon walked up

 

“Tadaaki, you're up!” Cardon gestured towards the front of the group. He made his way, pretending the supers were an audience. “Whenever you're ready.”


End file.
